What are the main points in civil disobedience?
civil disobedience, also called passive resistance, the refusal to obey the demands or commands of a government or occupying power, without resorting to violence or active measures of opposition; its usual purpose is to force concessions from the government or occupying power.
Why is civil disobedience necessary?
Civil disobedience is an important part of a democratic country because it is one of the driving factors that allow individuals to exercise their rights to free speech and speak up against an unfair and unjust government and its laws.
What does civil disobedience say?
Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience espouses the need to prioritize one’s conscience over the dictates of laws. It criticizes American social institutions and policies, most prominently slavery and the Mexican-American War.
Does civil disobedience have to be peaceful?
By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called “civil”. Hence, civil disobedience is sometimes equated with peaceful protests or nonviolent resistance.
How effective is civil disobedience?
Non-violent civil disobedience is effective because it emphasizes a group’s proposed injustice within an institution, while directly appealing to the different ethical systems of individual citizens.
What kind of government does Thoreau say is best?
Thoreau envisions the best kind of government as on that does not govern. He supports laissez-faire (free enterprise, free trade, noninterfering).
Why is salt chosen as a theme?
Salt was chosen to symbolize the start of civil disobedience movement because salt was deemed as something on which each Indian had the basic right. Mahatma Gandhi declared resistance to British salt policies to be the unifying theme for the civil disobedience movement and thus started Dandi March.
How did MLK use civil disobedience?
Using Civil Disobedience to Bring About Change Like Gandhi, King used civil disobedience as a means of effectuating government change. It took the form of large-scale, non-violent refusals to obey government commands. There were sit-ins and marches, all carried out against the wishes of local authorities.
What does Henry David Thoreau say about civil disobedience?
Thoreau argued that the government must end its unjust actions to earn the right to collect taxes from its citizens. As long as the government commits unjust actions, he continued, conscientious individuals must choose whether to pay their taxes or to refuse to pay them and defy the government.