Ethics \"That Government Is Best Which Governs

Ethics

"That government is best which governs least," (Thoreau). The opening line of Civil Disobedience testifies to the importance of individual enlightenment over blind conformity. Government should ideally be by the people and for the people. Laws are often arbitrary and reflect outmoded social norms. In Crito, Plato foresees centuries of government oppression of the people via unjust laws. Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela are both figureheads of civil disobedience because they followed the rational and sound examples set by Plato and Thoreau. Like Socrates in Crito, Martin Luther King understands that anarchy is not the solution to overturning unjust laws. No individual should obey an unjust law. The intelligent individual promotes democratic ideals and self-empowerment rather than acting as a martyr. In fact, obeying an unjust law is akin to perpetuating injustice. It is the duty of every conscious citizen, who is intent on promoting the good life, to disobey unjust laws and work towards the evolution of a more perfect society.

In Plato's Crito, the title character boldly persuades Socrates to break from prison. The dynamic between Crito and Socrates illustrates the central argument of whether or not to obey unjust laws. Unjust laws are by definition unworthy of respect. For example, interracial marriage was once a crime in the United States. It was a moral obligation of interracial couples in love to purposely disobey the law to prove that the government was wrong in legislating prejudice. Henry David Thoreau would agree; the government should never pass laws that infringe on the rights of others. Breaking laws that infringe on the rights of others is an act of civil disobedience. Just as Socrates willingly endured a prison term, so too did Nelson Mandela and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Their personal sacrifice helped pave the way for a more just society.

Henry David Thoreau's anti-governmental stance in Civil Disobedience offers a refreshingly balanced point-of-view. Rather than advocate lawlessness, Thoreau honors the common sense and reason that dwells within every sane, rational human being. Similarly, Plato values reason above all else. The common evil in both Crito and in Civil Disobedience is dogma. The key to a more perfect society is not disobeying laws for attention or simply for the sake of being a rebel. On the contrary, Socrates teaches Crito that genuine and fruitful civil disobedience might require the sacrifice of obeying an unjust law occasionally -- and consciously. This is why Dr. Martin Luther King did not avow the use of violence or any means other than peaceful protest in the quest for racial parity in America.

Even democracy itself cannot ensure a just society, for a majority of votes can too easily cloud reason. Claim both Plato and Thoreau, the tyranny of the majority is the fallacy of a democracy. In Civil Disobedience, Thoreau notes, "A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority." When a majority of special interest groups run the government, as they tend to do, then the individual's rights are frequently trampled upon. Both Plato and Thoreau enlighten their readers by pointing out this crucial fact.