Concept of Civil Disobedience

Table of Contents Abstract Introduction Conclusion Works Cited Abstract Civil disobedience is an act where people of a particular country fail to follow the laid down rules and regulations in order to force the government to give into their demands. In most cases, this kind of disobedience comes through organizing people to act in a nonviolent manner to force the government to heed to their demands. This is usually done in cases where the government takes a stand that contravenes the stand and will of the majority.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Concept of Civil Disobedience specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Although civil disobedience is mostly peaceful, it does not always mean that the people do not engage in activities meant to stop the government’s action. By closely examining civil disobedience, one realizes that the criteria used can make it work or fail. This research paper looks at the criteria under which civil disobedience can work and when it will fail to achieve its objective. The materials used in the research are mostly secondary sources from credible internet sites. Introduction Civil disobedience is an act where people of a particular country fail to follow the laid down rules and regulations in order to force the government to give into their demands. In most cases, this kind of disobedience comes through organizing people to act in a nonviolent manner to force the government to heed to their demands. This is usually done in cases where the government takes a stand that contravenes the stand and will of the majority. Although civil disobedience is mostly peaceful, it does not always mean that the people do not engage in activities meant to stop the government’s action. By closely examining civil disobedience, one realizes that the criteria used can make it work or fail. This research paper looks at the criteria under which civil disobedience can w ork and when it will fail to achieve its objective. (Civilliberties.org) The concept of civil disobedience dates back to the fourth century. In fact, Socrates ranked civil disobedience higher than civil law. Apart from Socrates, majority of Greek tragedies uphold this notion. According to Socrates and the Greek tragedies, wherever civil law is placed at the same level with civil disobedience, people are allowed to obey the higher law and disobey the lesser one. This concept has been developed further to state that unjust laws should not be allowed to cloud the conscience of good citizens. Scholars further claimed that since the people gave authority to the government, then the government was supposed to protect the human rights of the citizens. (Faucher) According to John Locke, the people have a right to overthrow any government that fails to provide this right. In a situation where people decide to overthrow a government that is in power, this act of civil disobedience might not b ear much fruit. In history, many governments have been known to do anything to maintain their power.Advertising Looking for research paper on political culture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More If citizens result to civil disobedience to force the government out of power, this might result to violence and hence make the civil disobedience lose its essence. It therefore follows that the criteria of using civil disobedience to overthrow a government might not present the expected results. In most cases, it degenerates to violence and makes the concept of civil disobedience lose its essence. (Thoreau) The criterion that gives civil disobedience success is the one presented by Henry David Thoreau. This scholar gave a lecture titled â€Å"On the Relation of the Individual to the State† where he highlighted his ideas concerning the subject. According to Thoreau, the government cannot exist without the people. Since this is the case, Thoreau proposes that the citizens should approve whatever authority the government wields. Secondly, he states that a government’s role to execute justice should be given preeminence over any other law that the government sets up. This gives every citizen the right to examine if the set laws respect and uphold their rights. If the citizen in any manner finds the law to deny him/her justice, then he/she has a right to disobey that particular law. In doing this, the citizen should be prepared to face the repercussions of breaking that particular law. According to Thoreau, the citizen is supposed to do so without any acts of violence. Since the person disobeying this law is ready for any punitive measures, it makes this act of civil disobedience a workable one. This is much easier and workable than a situation where people are called upon to overthrow a government. (Thoreau) Thoreau put this concept into practice when he refused to obey a law, which legalized slavery. An other law that he refused to obey was the one that legalized the Mexican War that lasted from 1846-1848. Because of his actions, he was forced to spend one night in a prison cell. Thoreau’s concept of civil disobedience was also proved workable by great figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. In the famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, King encouraged black Americans clergy to rise and deal with the segregation laws but do so in a nonviolent manner. This encouragement from King led to the changing of many laws that were viewed as unjust toward the African Americans. This also led to the acceptance of civil disobedience among political circles. This just shows that the concept of using civil disobedience to fight unjust laws as outlined by Henry Thoreau is capable of producing results. This is unlike the Greeks formula of civil disobedience that allows people to overthrow a government that they feel is not providing for their rights. (Pine)Advertising We wi ll write a custom research paper sample on Concept of Civil Disobedience specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conclusion The concept of civil disobedience is an olden policy that calls for the use of nonviolence by citizens to make their demands to be heard by the government. Depending on how it is applied, the concept can give results or fail to be effective. The situation where people are called to overthrow a government that fails to protect its rights might degenerate into violence and therefore fail the concept of civil violence. However, the concept outlined by Thoreau that calls people to disobey laws that they feel are unjust has been found to bring about positive results. Works Cited Civil Disobedience. Civil Disobedience Movement, 2010. Web. Faucher, H. What is the Meaning of Civil Disobedience? 2010. Web. Pine, C. Does Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience Have Any Lessons to Teach us in Today’s World? 2010. Web. Thoreau, H. Civil Disobedience. On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, 2002. Web. This research paper on Concept of Civil Disobedience was written and submitted by user Hudson C. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Women in 19th Century essays

Women in 19th Century essays During the nineteenth century women were viewed as homemakers, not able to perform in society with men. They were degraded and debased by men to believe that they were worth almost nothing, only worthy of bearing children. This superfluous male domination lead to many women feeling trapped in their own homes, unable to escape from the confinements placed on them by their husbands. An illumination of these confines was accounted by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a feminist writer of the nineteenth century, in her short story The Yellow Wallpaper. In this story, Gilman portrays herself as a woman who is suffering from post-partum depression. The woman is locked away from society in a confined room, only to drive herself even more insane. The author uses this nameless narrator in attempts to gain her position against gender issues and break down the barriers of male domination. Throughout The Yellow Wallpaper, Gilman challenges the reader to question feminist stances and gender bounda ries of the 19th century using specific symbols of gendered spaces, but also uses these devices to allow the reader to become connected with the facts of life women experienced during this time. Women in the 19th Century had many reasons to be filled with resentment. They were depraved of many human rights and given little in return for their contributions to society. They worked mostly in the home, taking care of the family while their husbands were at work. Women were not considered able to perform tasks in the work place, and were not able to obtain their own careers. The author recognizes these hardships and relates them to the situation in the story. Gilman writes in a way that is extremely structural that the readers visual senses are captivated by the written text and infer that the narrator is growing increasingly insane. She does this by first letting the reader get familiar with the nameless woman. As the st...

Understanding the work of financial markets Essay

Understanding the work of financial markets - Essay Example Therefore, borrowers might end up putting the blame that the unfavorable outcome is as a result of bad luck rather than taking the correct action. A fixed cost has to be paid so that lenders can monitor the actions of borrower. This is not possible because no one would be willing to pay a monitoring cost as they want a free- ride. The solution to this problem is to hire a single monitor to monitor the actions of the borrowers. A single monitor cannot solve this problem alone thus he uses a model of delegated monitoring called diamond model (Diamond 1996 pg 41). They monitor borrowers by promising lenders a fixed return from the diversified portfolio which the intermediaries offer. The diamond model demonstrates how banks have an incentive to act as a delegated monitor and produce the necessary information for efficient resource allocation. Thakor (1996 pg 917) also build another model in view of banks delegated role of monitoring borrowers. This model assumes that there are three typ es of information problem. To begin with, there is incomplete information regarding future projects a firm has or is available. Secondly lenders do not observe how borrowers invest their funds. Lastly, the possibility of borrowers investing in risky projects is very high. The argument of Thakor (1996 pg 917) is that the first problem can be solved by the financial market while the second and third problems can be solved by intermediaries. Thakor also argues that the emerging financial system will be predominated by the banks and the informational advantages of the markets may allow them to develop mature financial system. According to Allen (2002 pg 398), market –based systems such as U.S have... The essay clearly discusses the role of the banks in bank-based system and market-based systems and the informational problems. Market based systems eliminate informational problems. You find that most information is publicly displayed in the market for public listed companies. Then the essay talks about the possible solution. The solution to this problem is to hire a single monitor to monitor the actions of the borrowers. A single monitor cannot solve this problem alone thus he uses a model of delegated monitoring called diamond model (Diamond 1996 pg 41). Then, risk sharing is discussed. Sharing of risks is one of the most important functions of the financial systems and is often argued that the financial markets are well suited in achieving this goal. Afterwards, the essay talks about the corporate governance role. In most countries, the role of corporate control or agency is weak, and as a result banks have been appointed to act as monitors for a large corporation. Financial cris es is another topic that the essay discusses. Banks collect deposits and raise short term funds in the capital markets and invest them in the long term assets. Another important aspect would be that close and durable banking relationships provide better access to clients and eliminate some of the information problems associated with lending. Banking relationships can either be multiple or single. In this report, we have pointed out and discussed the role of banks in the financial systems, comparisons between bank –based and market based systems and their merits and different.