What Is The Role Of Civil Disobedience In Society

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To discern the overall effects of civil disobedience on a society, one must consider the purpose of a government, and determine the lesser of the two evils that the concept of peaceful resistance may bring about. The role of a government is to protect, foster, and further the common good of the citizens that comprise it. When the government neglects to realize this goal, society fails. In order to sufficiently fulfill its role, the government requires a certain amount of authority, a power that enables it to ordain objects towards the common good and to remove objects that obstruct it. The authority of the government is what allows it to function properly and efficiently; when this authority is undermined, the government is unable to fulfill …show more content…

When a citizen flouts the government’s legitimate authority, even in a peaceable manner, it frays the very fabric that holds societies together. Consider a case similar to that of infamous Edward Snowden’s. In the name of civil disobedience, a man may single-handedly compromise national security and potentially put the lives of millions at risk, all because he personally disagreed with his government. This is the inherent problem with civil disobedience, that it puts one man’s personal opinions in a position to disrupt the lives of many others. A society founded upon personal preference cannot preserve order for any extended period of time. If everyone within a country decided only to follow the laws they liked, society would unravel completely. Thus is the door to social unrest and anarchy opened wide by civil disobedience. Perhaps, there are, in the course of history, unjust laws made by the government. Perhaps, these unjust laws occasionally cause some suffering. But there is no man of any sense at all who would trade these slight evils of injustice for the monstrous evils of anarchy and chaos. For these are the ultimate effects of civil disobedience, and therefore, the dubious possibility of social benefit from peaceful resistance is not worth the

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