Examples Of Utilitarianism In Civil Disobedience

The general argument made by Henry David Thoreau in his work, Civil Disobedience, is that the government has not been doing it’s job and that the common man should step up for a change. He suggests that that a government in which the majority rule in almost everything cannot possibly be based of off justice. He also says, “ The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.” This shows that Thoreau thinks that no matter what laws or government is in control his moral views on such powers will always be higher. It is always the right choice to choose your moral stance rather than following laws just because a higher power put them in place. Thoreau also states if it’s possible to have a government that …show more content…
He says “ But, to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better governments”. This quote in itself seems to show signs of rationality from Thoreau. He starts by saying he speaks practically which means he knows that some demands maybe out of the picture but other ideas are very likely. I do believe that we need a government. There should not be a free for all and everybody running around doing what they want. However the government system in place seems to neglect a large amount of people, so who exactly do they speak for? Without a government in place society would just crumble from the foundation it was built on. But if a better government was in place maybe there wouldn’t be such problems we have faced for countless decades. Thoreau seems to believe that the government is sort of a tradition that is just carried on from one generation to the next. Meaning there is no such thing as a government change, it may looking different, but none the less have the same traits. This also seems to be very true. Throughout history there seems to be a reoccurring pattern when it comes to the government. No matter how many elections there are or different people nothing really seems to change. Take war for example. Throughout American history, no matter what leader or party or person is in power, there was always