Resistance to Civil Government, called Civil Disobedience for short, is an essay by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau that was first published in 1849. The majority may be powerful but it is not necessarily right. "[67] During the Vietnam War, courts typically refused to excuse the perpetrators of illegal protests from punishment on the basis of their challenging the legality of the Vietnam War; the courts ruled it was a political question. Many of the same decisions and principles that apply in other criminal investigations and arrests arise also in civil disobedience cases. The principle of civil disobedience has achieved some standing in international law through the war crime trials at Nürnberg, Germany, after World War II, which affirmed the principle that individuals may, under certain circumstances, be held accountable for failure to break the laws of their country. [37][38], Non-revolutionary civil disobedience is a simple disobedience of laws on the grounds that they are judged "wrong" by an individual conscience, or as part of an effort to render certain laws ineffective, to cause their repeal, or to exert pressure to get one's political wishes on some other issue. [16][17][18][19] Thus, by the time Thoreau's lectures were first published under the title "Civil Disobedience", in 1866, four years after his death, the term had achieved fairly widespread usage. In the 1960s and ’70s a new radicalism took root among students and the left in general in the United States, Europe, and Japan, embracing a general criticism of “elitist” power structures and the materialist values of modern industrial societies—both capitalist and communist.…, Lutheran theology stressed obedience to government as a Christian duty and did not, as did Reformed theology, produce a fully developed doctrine of resistance against tyrannical governments. In reviewing the voluminous literature on the subject, the student of civil disobedience rapidly finds himself surrounded by a maze of semantical problems and grammatical niceties. "[75] Hoffman also asserted that while the "rules of the game" for protesters were to remain non-violent while breaking the law, the authorities must recognize that demonstrators are acting out of their conscience in pursuit of democracy. When the government knocks on the door, it is an individual in the form of a postman or tax collector whose hand hits the wood. Often there is an expectation to be attacked or even beaten by the authorities. An example would be WBAI's broadcasting the track "Filthy Words" from a George Carlin comedy album, which eventually led to the 1978 Supreme Court case of FCC v. Pacifica Foundation. Christian Bay's encyclopedia article states that civil disobedience requires "carefully chosen and legitimate means," but holds that they do not have to be non-violent. Revolutionary civil disobedience is more of an active attempt to overthrow a government (or to change cultural traditions, social customs, religious beliefs, etc...revolution does not have to be political, i.e. Rao, Servants of India Society, September 10, 1935, Letter quoted in Louis Fischer's. Brownlee notes that "although civil disobedients are constrained in their use of coercion by their conscientious aim to engage in moral dialogue, nevertheless they may find it necessary to employ limited coercion to get their issue onto the table. Drawing in part on Gandhi’s example, the American civil rights movement, which came to prominence during the 1950s, sought to end racial segregation in the southern United States by adopting the tactics and philosophy of civil disobedience through such protests as the Greensboro (North Carolina) sit-in (1960) and the Freedom Rides (1961). Like Alice in Wonderland, he often finds that specific terminology has no more (or no less) meaning than the individual orator intends it to have. [59], Tim DeChristopher gave an allocution statement to the court describing the US as "a place where the rule of law was created through acts of civil disobedience" and arguing, "Since those bedrock acts of civil disobedience by our founding fathers, the rule of law in this country has continued to grow closer to our shared higher moral code through the civil disobedience that drew attention to legalized injustice."[60]. For the act of disobeying one's superior, see. [68] The necessity defence has sometimes been used as a shadow defence by civil disobedients to deny guilt without denouncing their politically motivated acts, and to present their political beliefs in the courtroom. Étienne de La Boétie's thought developed in his work Discours de la servitude volontaire ou le Contr'un (1552) was also taken up by many movements of civil disobedience, which drew from the concept of rebellion to voluntary servitude the foundation of its instrument of struggle. Learn more. This means that the objector has no right not to be punished. The philosopher H. J. McCloskey argues that "if violent, intimidatory, coercive disobedience is more effective, it is, other things being equal, more justified than less effective, nonviolent disobedience. It criticizes American social institutions and policies, most prominently slavery and the Mexican-American War. [8] A version was taken up by the author Henry David Thoreau in his essay Civil Disobedience, and later by Gandhi in his doctrine of Satyagraha. Black's Law Dictionary includes non-violence in its definition of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government. What, then, is the proper relationship between the individual and the government? It is because acts associated with civil disobedience are considered crimes, however, and known by actor and public alike to be punishable, that such acts serve as a protest. Along with his companions of Wafd Party, who have achieved an independence of Egypt and a first constitution in 1923. Witness the breadth of the Occupy Wall Street protest movement as civil disobedience spread across the U.S. What has resulted is an out of control mob. The modern concept of civil disobedience was most clearly formulated by Mahatma Gandhi. And still other civil disobedients, being anarchists, do not believe in the legitimacy of any government, and therefore see no need to accept punishment for a violation of criminal law that does not infringe the rights of others. Julia Butterfly Hill lived in Luna, a 180-foot (55 m)-tall, 600-year-old California Redwood tree for 738 days, successfully preventing it from being cut down. Civil disobedience refers to “nonviolent opposition to a government policy or law by refusing to comply with it.” These famous civil rights leaders paved the way for modern examples of civil disobedience in the 21st century. Students marched from Hledan to the US Embassy and others gathered at the NLD headquarters before marching to Sule. A technical defence may enhance the chances for acquittal, but increase the possibility of additional proceedings as well as reduced press coverage. It is a matter for the state (including the judges) to decide on utilitarian grounds whether to do so or not. [62] Hence the saying that "if there is any possible justification of civil disobedience it must come from outside the legal system."[63]. "[57], Some civil disobedience defendants choose to make a defiant speech, or a speech explaining their actions, in allocution. [32] It has been argued that, while both civil disobedience and civil rebellion are justified by appeal to constitutional defects, rebellion is much more destructive; therefore, the defects justifying rebellion must be much more serious than those justifying disobedience, and if one cannot justify civil rebellion, then one cannot justify a civil disobedient's use of force and violence and refusal to submit to arrest. "[34] In his best-selling Disobedience and Democracy: Nine Fallacies on Law and Order,[35] Howard Zinn takes a similar position; Zinn states that while the goals of civil disobedience are generally non-violent, in the inevitable tension accompanying the transition from a violent world to a non-violent one, the choice of means will almost never be pure, and will involve such complexities that the simple distinction between violence and non-violence does not suffice as a guide ... the very acts with which we seek to do good cannot escape the imperfections of the world we are trying to change. The same principle, she argues, applies to breaches of law in protest against international organizations and foreign governments. For example, Joseph Haas was arrested for allegedly sending an email to the Lebanon, New Hampshire, city councillors stating, "Wise up or die. Omissions? How shall he ever know well that he is and does as an officer of the government, or as a man, until he is obliged to consider whether he will treat me, his neighbor, for whom he has respect, as a neighbor and well-disposed man, or as a maniac and disturber of the peace, and see if he can get over this obstruction to his neighborliness without a ruder and more impetuous thought or speech corresponding with his action.[41]. 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. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Civil disobedience is usually defined as pertaining to a citizen's relation to the state and its laws, as distinguished from a constitutional impasse, in which two public agencies, especially two equally sovereign branches of government, conflict. [39] Gandhi's acts have been described as revolutionary civil disobedience. Brownlee argues that disobedience in opposition to the decisions of non-governmental agencies such as trade unions, banks, and private universities can be justified if it reflects "a larger challenge to the legal system that permits those decisions to be taken". Thoreau, at the time of his arrest, was not yet a well-known author, and his arrest was not covered in any newspapers in the days, weeks and months after it happened. The philosophical roots of civil disobedience lie deep in Western thought: Cicero, Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry David Thoreau all sought to justify conduct by virtue of its harmony with some antecedent superhuman moral law. I don't deny it; in fact, I am proud of it. From Ghandi to Martin Luther King Jr, people have used civil disobedience to enact change. Civil disobedience, unlike civil resistance, is an act of intentionally breaking the law. [citation needed][original research?] The radical critique of the philosophy of civil disobedience condemns its acceptance of the existing political structure; conservative schools of thought, on the other hand, see the logical extension of civil disobedience as anarchy and the right of individuals to break any law they choose, at any time. civil disobedience Bedeutung, Definition civil disobedience: 1. the act by a group of people of refusing to obey laws or pay taxes, as a peaceful way of…. 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. Governments have generally not recognized the legitimacy of civil disobedience or viewed political objectives as an excuse for breaking the law. Learn more. "Policy-based" civil disobedience occurs when a person breaks the law to change a policy (s)he believes is dangerously wrong. Civil disobedients have chosen a variety of different illegal acts. Virtual actions rarely succeed in completely shutting down their targets, but they often generate significant media attention. And the Viet-Nam War protester. Our honor for those in authority is a testimony to unbelievers, and it keeps our hearts clean and pure before God. Civil disobedience has been a major tactic and philosophy of nationalist movements in Africa and India, in the American civil rights movement, and of labour, anti-war, and other social movements in many countries. Following this Captain Charles Boycott, the land agent of an absentee landlord in County Mayo, Ireland, was subject to social ostracism organized by the Irish Land League in 1880. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Then, there’s Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. In this way, they might be considered coercive. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. See more. When practicing civil disobedience, the masses taking part generally resist against a particular governmental action, decision, policy, or even refuse to accept an international power taking control, as was observed in the case of India and the Indian Freedom Struggle. It is the deliberate breaking of a law, or regulation or practice on moral grounds (“conscience”), and not for personal gain. The point of civil disobedience is a refusal to cooperate with unjust laws, policies, or government demands. This is a form of jail solidarity. Hugo A. Bedau writes. Civil disobedience occurs when an individual or group refuses to follow the rules, policies, or legislation passed by their government. Civil disobedience is one of the many ways people have rebelled against what they deem to be unfair laws. In fact, I would argue that our problem is civil obedience. [47], Dilemma actions are designed to create a "response dilemma" for public authorities "by forcing them to either concede some public space to protesters or make themselves look absurd or heavy-handed by acting against the protest."[48]. In seeking an active form of civil disobedience, one may choose to deliberately break certain laws, such as by forming a peaceful blockade or occupying a facility illegally,[23] though sometimes violence has been known to occur. A symbolic, non-violent violation of the law, done deliberately in protest against some form of perceived injustice. He also notes that some major civil disobedience campaigns which have been classified as non-violent, such as the Birmingham campaign, have actually included elements of violence. Martin Luther King, Jr., a leader of the movement from the mid-1950s to his assassination in 1968, was an articulate defender of its strategy of nonviolent protest. [14] In South Africa in the fight against apartheid, in the American civil rights movement, in the Singing Revolution to bring independence to the Baltic countries from the Soviet Union, recently with the 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia and the 2004 Orange Revolution[15] in Ukraine, among other various movements worldwide. [21], In a letter to P. K. Rao, dated September 10, 1935, Gandhi disputes that his idea of civil disobedience was derived from the writings of Thoreau:[22], The statement that I had derived my idea of Civil Disobedience from the writings of Thoreau is wrong. The best study guide to Civil Disobedience on the planet, from the creators of SparkNotes. Civil Disobedience. [55], Sometimes the prosecution proposes a plea bargain to civil disobedients, as in the case of the Camden 28, in which the defendants were offered an opportunity to plead guilty to one misdemeanour count and receive no jail time. It has been argued that the term "civil disobedience" has always suffered from ambiguity and in modern times, become utterly debased. Although civil disobedience is considered to be an expression of contempt for law, King regarded civil disobedience to be a display and practice of reverence for law: "Any man who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community on the injustice of the law is at that moment expressing the very highest respect for the law. …are recognized by advocates of civil disobedience; their propagandists would contend that sloganeering and reasoned persuasion must be accompanied by sit-ins and other overt acts of passive resistance; they aim for a new climate of social pressure.…, …injustice through the tactic of civil disobedience. [29] The Fully Informed Jury Association's publication "A Primer for Prospective Jurors" notes, "Think of the dilemma faced by German citizens when Hitler's secret police demanded to know if they were hiding a Jew in their house. Civil disobedients' refraining from violence is also said to help preserve society's tolerance of civil disobedience.[33]. Civil disobedience is a way of expressing political opposition that pushes beyond what the law allows you to do, in terms of resistance. Civil disobedience is a popular form of protest all over the world. If a man chose to be an agent of injustice, then Thoreau insisted on confronting him with the fact that he was making a choice. The movement spread throughout Ireland and gave rise to the term to Boycott, and eventually led to legal reform and support for Irish independence. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Civil disobedience is an act of refusal by a large group of people against certain laws. [43][page needed] There have also been many instances of solitary civil disobedience, such as that committed by Thoreau, but these sometimes go unnoticed. In cases where the criminalized behaviour is pure speech, civil disobedience can consist simply of engaging in the forbidden speech. Electronic civil disobedience can include web site defacements, redirects, denial-of-service attacks, information theft and data leaks, illegal web site parodies, virtual sit-ins, and virtual sabotage. By the 1850s, a range of minority groups in the United States: African Americans, Jews, Seventh Day Baptists, Catholics, anti-prohibitionists, racial egalitarians, and others—employed civil disobedience to combat a range of legal measures and public practices that to them promoted ethnic, religious, and racial discrimination. And the Viet-Nam War protester. Thoreau's Civil Disobedience espouses the need to prioritize one's conscience over the dictates of laws. The driving idea behind the essay is that citizens are morally responsible for their support of aggressors, even when such support is required by law. Even a good form of government is "liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it."
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