Dissent & Disobedience

The ethics of breaking the law. From Socrates’s refusal to flee his execution to Thoreau’s tax strike and Hannah Arendt’s analysis of civil disobedience.

  1. Socrates’s Last Stand: In 399 BCE Athens, Socrates refused to escape execution. He argued that as a citizen he had tacitly agreed to Athens’s laws and must respect them – except he also claimed higher moral obligations. This anecdote explores whether obeying law or personal conscience should prevail, a debate that started Western civil disobedience.
  2. Martin Luther and the Reformation: In 1517 Germany, Luther challenged the Catholic Church by posting his 95 Theses. He knowingly defied both church and emperor, insisting individual conscience (personal reading of the Bible) trumped corrupt authority. This episode shows religious dissent turning into a mass movement against a powerful state-church.
  3. American Patriots (Boston Tea Party): In 1773 Boston, colonists boarded ships and dumped taxed tea into the harbor – breaking British law on purpose. They argued “no taxation without representation.” The story demonstrates how breaking an unjust law (Parliament’s taxes) can spark revolution, forcing us to ask what laws are truly legitimate.
  4. Harriet Tubman & the Underground Railroad: Tubman repeatedly broke U.S. laws (Fugitive Slave Act) to lead slaves to freedom. She famously said that slaves "keep something for freedom" in her safe houses. Her civil disobedience had no legal sanction, yet it appealed to higher ideals of justice and human rights, illustrating moral courage against oppressive laws.
  5. Henry David Thoreau’s Tax Rebellion: In 1846 Massachusetts, Thoreau refused to pay poll tax because it funded the Mexican-American War and slavery. He spent a night in jail and later wrote Civil Disobedience, arguing that individuals should not permit governments to overrule their conscience. His personal story became a blueprint for nonviolent protest.
  6. Emmeline Pankhurst – Suffragette Tactics: Early 20th-century Britain, Pankhurst led women to smash windows and illegally disrupt politics to demand voting rights. She argued that if law excludes you, then law-breaking is justified until justice is served. This explores militant civil disobedience: rights not given by law must be taken.
  7. Mohandas Gandhi’s Salt March: In 1930 India, Gandhi led followers to the sea to make salt, breaking British monopoly laws. He declared civil disobedience a “soul-force,” using nonviolent law-breaking to shake an empire. This day’s narrative would detail Gandhi’s techniques and how they leveraged mass participation to challenge colonial authority.
  8. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement: MLK organized Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955) and sit-ins, knowing these actions violated segregation laws. He invoked democratic ideals (Declaration of Independence, Bible) to claim a higher law. This entry covers how nonviolent defiance of unjust laws can transform society—King’s movement desegregated the American South.
  9. Nelson Mandela and Apartheid: Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC) initially pursued nonviolent protest, then took up arms against South Africa’s apartheid laws. He knowingly violated laws against political organization. Imprisoned for 27 years, Mandela’s personal journey symbolized that fighting unjust laws might require even revolution. Eventually he led a peaceful transition.
  10. Charter 77 (Czechoslovakia): In 1977, Czech dissidents including Václav Havel published Charter 77, demanding the communist government respect human rights it had signed. This act of collective defiance was illegal under communism. The topic would explain how philosophical arguments about universal rights challenged a tyrannical regime.
  11. Tiananmen Square (1989): Chinese students gathered in Beijing to demand political reforms. Their sit-in was illegal but driven by ideals of democracy and freedom. When the government sent in tanks, it underscored the risks of defying authoritarian law. This modern example shows civil disobedience on a massive scale and its tragic costs.
  12. Arab Spring Uprisings: Beginning in 2010, ordinary citizens in Tunisia, Egypt, and other countries took to the streets, often in defiance of martial law and curfews. They cited unemployment and corruption as unjust laws. This entry covers how online organization and mass protests toppled dictatorships, continuing the theme that collective disobedience can be a political force.
  13. Whistleblowers (Snowden, Assange): In the 21st century, people like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange leaked classified government data. Legally they broke espionage or secrecy laws; morally they claimed to defend democracy and privacy. This suggests a new form of disobedience – digital – where individuals challenge state authority by disclosing hidden truths.
  14. Hannah Arendt on Disobedience: Philosopher Arendt (20th c.) wrote an essay “Civil Disobedience,” arguing that citizens have a political right (not just moral duty) to resist laws that contradict common justice. She split wrongdoing into “lawful” (following immoral orders) and “rightful” (defying unjust laws). Ending with Arendt provides a theoretical framework: when does breaking law serve democracy?