Civil Disobedience : Summary

Summary

Today we will know and analyze the summary of Civil Disobedience in detail. Henry David Thoreau writes Civil Disobedience. 

The author basically talks about a few things here, one of which is:

• What should be the government of a country, or what should be the function of government
• Voting system is the right of the people to protest the struggle or any issue of the government
• And peaceful revolution.

Civil Disobedience- This title basically refers to civil disobedience society or pressure groups about whom we all know more or less. Disobedience means disobedience. When pressure groups are dissatisfied with something in government, they are disobedient to change.

So we can understand this entire article very easily in just four points

• What are the ideas about government and the functions of government?
• Thoreau’s prison experience
• How will the government act?
• What did Thoreau criticize the government about?

What are the ideas about government and the functions of government?

This text influenced many prominent politicians of the Indian subcontinent. David Thoreau, author of Civil Disobedience, gives an early conception of government. According to him, the best government is the government that rules the least. He also said that the best government for the people is a government that never rules.

The government will be the mediator: Shall not rule here means that the government is not a ruling group but an intermediary body between the people who will act for the people. Whether the people get the best government depends entirely on whether the people deserve such a government. That is, the government will be such that the overall activities of the country will depend on the people, and the people will implement those activities through their elected government.

The government will believe in peace and not war: When the American-Mexican War broke out in 1948, the author stood alone against the war. One manifestation of his defiance was non-payment of taxes, and he himself expressed his displeasure with the current government for non-payment of taxes. And for not paying this tax, he was sent to jail for a night. His imprisonment was very transformative for his outlook. During his stay in prison, he listened through the prison window to the conversations of the people in the residential areas outside and had a completely different view of the people outside than before.

We find in our surroundings that when informal discussions on political or other matters are carried on in the neighborhood’s tea shop or at home, the very details and truths emerge. David Thoreau heard such talks while in prison, which completely changed his outlook.

Thoreau’s prison Experience: Henry David Thoreau said his imprisonment was not only a one-night imprisonment. He felt that he had travelled to a faraway land during this one night and gained many experiences and lessons that helped him change his outlook. Even he does not treat people the way he used to treat people before he got out of prison or the way people treated him after getting out of prison. At that time, there was a culture where people bowed their hands and bowed their hands to those who came out of prison. But after Henry David Thoreau exited prison, nobody did much for him. While in prison, he had a prison cellmate or neighbour who had to be imprisoned for setting fire to a grain field.

After entering the prison, when the warden introduced him to his neighbour, the arsonist began to teach David Thoreau about the various rules of the prison, such as that if any part of the morning breakfast is left, it should be kept so that it can be eaten again at noon because the food in the prison is very little that the leftovers from the morning breakfast are used in the afternoon. Moreover, after going to the prison, he found that all the other inmates inside had created an environment of their own for chatting and gossiping with each other. Here David Thoreau points out another point of the government: when the government employed him to punish or restrain him physically, the government should have thought that imprisoning a man cannot imprison his mind. He could see the moon in the sky as beautifully as he came to the prison; he had never seen it so beautifully from outside. Moreover, the government always wants to obstruct the citizens physically, but it never can and does not want to face the people or citizens’ sanity.

How will the government act?

According to David Thoreau, when the government makes a law for a country, it is the responsibility and duty of every citizen of the country to follow it and show loyalty to it. But if that law goes against the people of the country or goes against morality, then it is not the responsibility and duty of the citizens to follow it.

If such a law is enacted, the people can face it in four ways which are:

• People can freely accept it
• Can try to correct it
• Can completely reject that law
• And last until that law is amended, they can abide by it.

What did Thoreau criticize the government about?

Inconsistency of law: According to the author, there may be many inconsistencies in making laws in the interest of the government or in the interest of the law, which are not necessarily mandatory for the people to follow. If the law goes against morality, people can freely reject it and have that right.

Ethics and awareness: Moreover, the author also says that in democratic countries, the most powerful party usually forms the government. But that doesn’t mean that what that party says is right or that they are on the right track. Through this, he placed morality and awareness above rules and laws.

Criticism of the Voting System: David Thoreau also criticized the voting system in his writings. According to him, the voting system of a country is like a game of dice. It depends a lot on luck and power. He has already said that it is natural for the most powerful party in a country to form the government. So it is not the case that a morally strong person will win the vote. Because the powerful parties always manage the voting system by showing their power without resorting to morality.

The right to revolution: David Thoreau talks about revolution and revolution. These are that any person in a country can speak against the government and call for revolution. Every person in the country has this right. Here is a famous quote by David Thoreau Pele for reference. Paley, in his book Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy, said that when the government of a country is established in that country, and it is not possible for the people to overthrow the government of that country, then the people should obey that government and obey all the orders of the government. Because that government then acts as a mediator for the people of that country. But David Thoreau strongly protested his statement and said that how can a government which is itself inconsistent and preoccupied with moral positions act as a regulator of the people?

Criticism of the tax system: David Thoreau also criticized a country’s tax system and stated that the government imposes an immoral high tax burden on the people. As a result of this tax system, the rich classes of the country become richer and put a strain on the poor people, resulting in a financial crisis.

So finally, David Thoreau actually gave his Civil Disobedience text as a speech. Because we know earlier that he was in jail for a night for non-payment of taxes, his views came out through this speech.