Occasional Writing for T5, Thoreau, Civil Disobedience
Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience
Thoreau begins this work by telling us “That government is best which governs least.” Taking the work as a whole, what does he mean, and why does he think it is true? Please limit yourself to 200-300 words and submit your comments no later than 24 hours before class begins on T6. You can, if you wish, listen to the audio version of the text as well.
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Philosophy 395: Philosophy of Law 
Thoreau believes that minimal government intervention is necessary because as citizens are continually told what to do and how to live their lives then they become incapable of independent thought and those in higher positions become immersed in their own power. If rules and regulations hinder a citizen’s opinions irrelevant then our country could go in two different directions; we could have people that become unintelligent and have no contributions for society, or once any leniency is granted them, they will burst through their boundaries making extreme or rash decisions because they don’t know how to handle their freedoms. With less government control, the citizens of a country would be left to themselves and expected to do what they think is right. What one person thinks is right and what another person thinks is right, however, is controversial and may not match. Discrepancies in the morals of citizenry could cause disputes, which is possibly why Thoreau mentions that the presence of a government may be beneficial. With even a weak central government people have the assurance and feeling of order/purpose. Weak central governments unite their citizens around a common cause but enable them to have the freedom to make their own choices in achieving their goals allowing people to think freely and use their strengths to better benefit the country.
Thoreau says that the government which governs least is the best since he believes that government is debase and lowers the human race and its capacities. He looks to history and observes that the government gets the credit for all of its citizen’s achievements. For example settling the West and keeping the country a free place. The citizens are the ones who toiled and works to make these a reality yet the government and administration receives the credit for making them happen. In this sense the government has been raised to a level above the human being. The human being is then subjected to its desires and plans. Yet government is not omnipotent and advocates bad laws and evil at times. In Thoreau’s case slavery is the major evil which the government supports. Thoreau believes that it is best not to let the government control these aspects of your life concerning moral right and wrong but to instead ignore these laws. He states that the first obligation of a citizen is not to follow the laws of state but instead to do what he or she believes is right. He states that even a democracy which is supposed to be the least involved government is prone to wrong. In a democracy justice is decided by popularity not the most virtuous, therefore no justice exists in the state. The government also degrades men by turning them into machine like soldiers and ordinary citizens into passive people who wait by as virtue crumbles around them.
Thoreau had a problem with the government controlling the civilian sector as opposed to the other way around. All around him he looked around and saw a respect for the law but not a respect for right. His belief in what was right versus wrong, following his consciousness, allowed him to see that he could not pay allegiance blindly to the state. The government cannot be trusted or attributed human qualities, according to Thoreau. The government cannot educate or give liberty; it is only as powerful as those in government, and can be changed or pulled by merely one man in charge. On the other hand, the majority should not constitute what is right. So where does right come from? It comes from our conscience. The state is only conscientious if it is filled with conscious men.
From unconscientiously and indifferent men comes errors which often claim patriotism. People who are inactive in making changes to the government and make demands of the government to change from within are useless. The people should look to themselves to make changes. Injustice seems to be part of the necessary “friction of the machine government.” In other words, the government runs on injustices, where someone breaks the law and the government then has power to do its job. For example, the state demands taxes from the individual. The state has its own objectives and the people are used as mere numbers and parts of the machinery. When one refuses to pay a tax, he is thrown in jail.
Thoreau refuses to pay taxes to the state because he is concerned with the effects of that tax. He does not want to have allegiance with an unconscious state. Those who are more interested in their own affairs are the ones to blame for the injustices of the state. The many civilians who outnumber the men in government and yet pay their taxes to keep quietly to themselves are to blame for the corruption that continues with strength.