Civil Disobedience — Henry David Thoreau

Starting question

Essay thesis

Thoreau argues that conscience is higher than government, and that citizens must refuse cooperation with injustice. A just person should not wait passively for the majority to reform the state; they must withdraw support from evil, even at personal cost. > That government is best which governs least. > Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.

Then Node · AI

Best government governs least

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Thoreau begins from suspicion of government power. Government is at best an expedient, often an obstacle, and its authority should be limited. He radicalizes a familiar slogan toward the idea that the best government may eventually be one that does not govern at all. > I heartily accept the motto, That government is best which governs least. > That government is best which governs not at all.

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Government as instrument

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Government is not the source of moral progress. It is a tool used by people, often captured by the strongest group and used for expediency rather than justice.

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Conscience before law

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The central moral claim is that obedience to law cannot replace obedience to conscience. A person’s first duty is to do what is right, not merely what the state commands. > It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. > The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.

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