On the Duty of Civil Disobedience

The essay contends that government is at best a practical expedient and often becomes a vehicle for injustice, urging individuals not to surrender conscience to majority rule or legal authority. It critiques standing armies, unquestioning obedience, and institutional complicity in practices such as slavery and aggressive war, arguing that law does not make people just. The author recommends withholding consent through noncooperation, refusal of support, and other forms of conscientious resistance, insisting that individuals prioritize what they believe to be right over compliance with unjust laws, even at personal cost, as the moral remedy to governmental wrongdoing.