Table of Contents
What happens to a person who has an undue respect for law?
[10] A common and natural result of an undue respect for law is, that you may see a file of soldiers, colonel, captain, corporal, privates, powder-monkeys, and all, marching in admirable order over hill and dale to the wars, against their wills, ay, against their common sense and consciences, which makes it very steep …
What does Thoreau mean by an undue respect for law?
Thoreau uses the phrase “undue respect for law” in part 1, paragraph 4 to describe how “well-disposed [people] are daily made the agents of injustice,” meaning that that good people do what is legally required, instead of doing what is right.
What is Thoreau’s problem with voting?
Thoreau did not think very highly of voting in general or individuals who expressed their opinions by casting votes. He thought that voting was too much like gambling: risky and uncertain. He said that many people have opinions that seem strong.
What is Thoreau’s argument against the government?
Thoreau argued that the government must end its unjust actions to earn the right to collect taxes from its citizens. As long as the government commits unjust actions, he continued, conscientious individuals must choose whether to pay their taxes or to refuse to pay them and defy the government.
Why is Thoreau so angry at the government?
In “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau is angry at the government because he believes it is complicit in immoral activities.
Is there such a thing as too much law?
Absolutely, there’s such a thing as too much law. During Prohibition, Albert Einstein was asked his opinion about the law, and said ” nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.” And that, I think, is the real danger.
Why is it important to respect the law?
It also implies that while you are dissatisfied with the judge who has passed such order/ judgement, you are equally respectful for the appellate judge for his ability to reverse the bad order/ judgment. So law must be respected as long as it is on the rule book.
Why is the rule of law under threat?
The real threat to the rule of law is inherent in the enormous scope of discretion possessed by the executive in a system where there are so many legal rules that almost everyone has violated some of them, and it is not possible for law enforcement to target more than a small fraction of the offenders. Advertisement
How can we improve the rule of law?
The only way to make major progress toward establishing the rule of law would be to greatly reduce the scope and complexity of legal rules. In a world where the scope of law is strictly limited, officials might have sufficient resources to go after a much larger percentage of lawbreakers.