Civil disobedience Thoreau
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
How does Thoreau define the best possible kind of government?
answer
Thoreau envisions the best kind of government as on that does not govern. He supports laissez-faire (free enterprise, free trade, noninterfering).
question
ANALYZE what claim does Thoreau make about obligation as a citzen?
answer
A citizen has an obligation to act according to the dictates of his conscience, even if the latter goes against majority opinion, the presiding leadership, or the laws of society.
question
In the first paragraph, what distinction does Thoreau make between the government and the people?
answer
The opening paragraph expresses Thoreau's seemingly libertarian political sentiments; the idea that the most ideal form of government is one which exercises the least power and control over its citizens.
question
Why does he begin the essay that way?
answer
The implied dissolution of the State is as much an expression of Thoreau's idealism (a utopic vision that cannot be realistically achieved) as it is the theoretical endpoint of the way societies develop and evolve.
question
Why does Thoreau refer to civil disobedience not merely as a right but as a duty?
answer
Thoreau refused to pay an extra tax for the war in Mexico and went to jail for it. He believed that government had to have the consent of the people to wage war or collect taxes. Thoreau believed that the liberty of the individual transcended that of the state.
