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On the Duty of Civil Disobedience Review

Henry David Thoreau's "Resistance to Civil Government" - or "Civil Disobedience," as it became known - is an essential part of American literature, culture, and history. Even more remarkably, it is undeniable proof that great literature can have a real effect on the world even long after it is written and ignored. The essay is world famous as the founding text of civil disobedience, i.e., non-violent protest, and its effect on such luminaries as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King was profound, thus sealing its immortality. This alone makes it essential for all.

However, it is easy to forget that the essay is a masterpiece in itself. Essentially Thoreau's highly individual expression of his mentor Emerson's self-reliance doctrine applied to government, it has a wealth of depth and nuance despite its brevity. The words are few but the implications endless; it has enough food for proverbial thought to last a lifetime. The gist is very clear, but the implications have spoken very differently to many different people. The work's nature - and Thoreau's generally - is such that it and he are championed by everyone from neocons to libertarians to liberals, and the truly notable thing is that all are justified. This underscores the importance of reading the essay for ourselves.

Its main query is "What does the individual owe the state?," the answer being a resounding "Nothing." Thoreau takes the maxim that the government that governs least governs best to its logical conclusion by wishing for one that governs not at all - a brave wish very few have seriously dared to make or even conceive. He makes a highly principled stand for individual rights and autonomy, arguing very persuasively that people should be able to go about their business without interference. This of course sounds very much like current libertarians, and their position has indeed hardly ever been better argued. Many related and implied issues - protests against taxation, conscription, etc. - also seem to support them. However, it is important to remember that the essay's crux and most famous section - Thoreau's account of a night spent in jail for refusing to pay a poll tax because he did not want to support war or slavery - was and is immensely liberal. Few issues can be more central to current liberalism than an anti-war stance, and slavery was the era's great liberal cause. All this must be kept firmly in mind amid the many attempts to reduce Thoreau to a current party platform. He was at once too simple and too complex for this and would not have suffered himself to be thus reduced; nor does the essay justify it.

Integral as all this is, the work's core point is arguably a new self-reliance argument above and beyond immediate practical considerations. Thoreau certainly had a practical, political streak, especially compared to relative idealists like Emerson, but he thought individuality more sacred than anything. He articulated this more fully elsewhere, but it is very present here. His work is thus in many ways the best kind of self-help material - and, unlike the mass of current self-help tripe littering bookshelves, is intellectually and even aesthetically pleasing. Thoreau was the most thoroughly local writer that can be imagined, but his willingness to look deep inside himself for the eternal truths present in all people has made him an inspiration to millions and millions of people from across the political spectrum and indeed the world. This essay is a major part of his legacy and thus one of the very few works that literally everyone should read. Few can be the same afterward, and it will change many lives; it is nothing less than one of the most important documents ever written, and its value simply cannot be exaggerated. It is an excellent primer for those new to Thoreau, and those who have not already done so should open their minds to him immediately - and once done, they will never be closed again.

On the Duty of Civil Disobedience Overview

I heartily accept the motto, "That government is best which governs least"; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe—"That government is best which governs not at all"; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have. Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient.

- Henry David Thoreau

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Customer Reviews

Thoreau would be shocked by today's government - Jeffrey Van Wagoner - Gilbert, AZ USA
It seems to be a great truth that the most profound points are made in very short works. This is a very influential work by Thoreau that is the foundation of civil disobedience. Gandhi and Martin Luther King were greatly influenced by this work.

A famous quote from this work is "That government is best which governs least". Today's bloated government would literally drive him mad. I've also read "Walden" and it expresses similar sentiments.

This short pamphlet should be read by everyone. I would personally love to see less government and agree that civil disobedience is a very good way to encourage change. It sounds like politicians back then were similar to what we have today. Some things never change.

These kindle freebies have given me a great and easy way to review several items I have wanted to read for years.

When the State is Unjust - Dr B Leland Baker - Colorado Springs, CO
Civil Disobedience (Original Title: Resistance to Civil Government) by Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

This essay was written at a time when slavery was still legal and the United States military had invaded Mexico, serving as a catalyst for Thoreau's dissent against an unjust government. His focus is on the primacy of the individual - and he disagrees that the individual should "serve" the State, especially when the state is unjust.
Some of his memorable quotes include:
-- The mass of men serve the State thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies.
-- (The state) is not armed with superior wit or honesty, but with superior physical strength. I was not born to be forced.
-- When I meet a government which says to me, "Your money or your life," why should I be in haste to give it my money?

Ironic as it seems, what was written by Thoreau about the Congress in 1849 is still true today:

"Our legislators have not yet learned the comparative value of free trade and of freed, of union, and of rectitude, to a nation. They have no genius or talent for comparatively humble questions of taxation and finance, commerce and manufactures and agriculture. If we were left solely to the wordy wit of legislators in Congress for our guidance, uncorrected by the seasonable experience and the effectual complaints of the people, America would not long retain her rank among the nations."

Thoreau concludes that "there will never be a free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly."

This could serve as a primer for the Tea Party Movement!

Dr. B Leland Baker, author of Tea Party Revival, The Conscience of a Conservative Reborn

Tea Party Revival - The Conscience of a Conservative Reborn: The Tea Party Revolt Against Unconstrained Spending and Growth of the Federal Government

A testament to American Individualism - Bagels - Los Angeles, CA
This is a thoroughly American view on political theory given the emphasis on the individual coupled with the call for civil disobedience. Definitely not for the faint hearted, go into this with a grasp of the events of the day and a willingness to read the entire essay at least twice to fully appreciate Thoreau's points.

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Monday, October 11, 2010