Civil Disobedience — Henry David Thoreau

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Essay thesis

Thoreau argues that conscience is higher than government, and that citizens must refuse cooperation with injustice. A just person should not wait passively for the majority to reform the state; they must withdraw support from evil, even at personal cost. > That government is best which governs least. > Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.
Then Node

Best government governs least

Thoreau begins from suspicion of government power. Government is at best an expedient, often an obstacle, and its authority should be limited. He radicalizes a familiar slogan toward the idea that the best government may eventually be one that does not govern at all. > I heartily accept the motto, That government is best which governs least. > That government is best which governs not at all.
Then Node

Government as instrument

Government is not the source of moral progress. It is a tool used by people, often captured by the strongest group and used for expediency rather than justice.
Then Pro / Supporting Point

Conscience before law

The central moral claim is that obedience to law cannot replace obedience to conscience. A person’s first duty is to do what is right, not merely what the state commands. > It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. > The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.
Then Node

Majority rule is not justice

Majorities rule because they are physically stronger or more numerous, not because they are morally wiser. Democratic procedure does not guarantee moral legitimacy. > A government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it.
Then Pro / Supporting Point

Men first, subjects afterward

Thoreau wants citizens to remain moral agents rather than become obedient machinery. The state prefers subjects, but justice requires people who can say no. > Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? > I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward.
Then Pro / Supporting Point

The machine metaphor

When government becomes an engine of injustice, citizens must not become its gears. Neutrality is not enough if one’s compliance helps the machine run. > If the machine of government is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.
Then Node

Slavery and Mexico

The essay’s urgent context is American slavery and the Mexican-American War. Thoreau sees both as state-backed injustices that citizens materially support through taxes, voting, and compliance.
Then Node

Complicity matters

Thoreau distinguishes disapproving of injustice from withdrawing support. It is not enough to have the right opinion while continuing to fund or enable wrong. > There are thousands who are in opinion opposed to slavery and to the war, who yet in effect do nothing to put an end to them.
Then Con / Counterpoint

Vote is too weak

Voting is only a feeble expression of moral preference if one leaves the outcome to majority chance. Justice requires putting one’s whole weight behind the right. > Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. > A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance.
Then Synthesis / Balanced View

The individual as majority of one

A morally awake person does not need numerical backing to act. One person with conscience can embody a higher majority than a crowd without justice. > Any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one already.

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Synthesis / Balanced View

Refusal as action

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