The Concept of Civil Disobedience
The concept of civil disobedience refers to an individual's active refusal to adhere to the rules or regulations set up by an existing authority. There is a lot of controversies over the moral justification of civil disobedience given that it reflects an individual's defiance to conform to the existing laws. The uncertainty can be attributed to the difficulty of differentiating the concept from breach of the law. It may be regarded as a non-violent form of resisting government's policies or ideologies. Viewing the concept from this perspective raises further questions about its morality because it portrays it as defiance of the authority, whoever, it does not involve taking any violent action that might jeopardize an individual's safety or security. Thoreau (2018) notes that individuals who subscribe to the idea of civil disobedience are often aware of and are ready to bear the consequences of their actions, thus, indicating that they abide by the law despite their stand. Notably, several known activists have used this approach to show their dissatisfaction with the system of governance since time in memorial. Examples of individuals whose lives and teachings were influenced by the concept of civil disobedience are Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi.
Influence on Mahatma Gandhi
Despite the numerous criticism of Gandhi's consistency in displaying civil disobedience in his life and teaching, several authors report that the concept had a significant impact on his life. For instance, Gould (1988) highlights that Mahatma Gandhi applied the concept on several occasions. He even argued that the concept is divided into two, namely; mass civil disobedience and individual civil disobedience. The author further notes that nine out of twenty-two non-violent actions by Gandhi conformed to the concept of civil disobedience. One of such actions includes his quest to oppose discrimination against the Indian community in South Africa. He also subscribed to the idea of civil disobedience when he declared that he was willing to face the consequences of disobeying the British's order which required him to leave the district of Motihari. Such actions are proof that the Mahatma Gandhi's life and work were influenced by civil disobedience.
Influence on Martin Luther King
Just like Gandhi, some of Martin Luther King's actions and work were informed by the concept of civil disobedience. For instance, the latter writes that he is opposed to the political totalitarianism of the communist system because it subjected people to the state. He asserts that this subjection deprives people of their right to think and act autonomously without interference (King, 1960). In his opinion, the state should be put in place for the service of man, and not vice versa. As such, the subjection of people to certain policies put in place by the authority equals to rendering people as mere things and not human beings (King, 1960). This point is in tandem with the concept of civil disobedience which is based on the notion of refusal to adhere to laws without using violence. Moreover, Martin's teaching with regarding Karl Marx's theory of classism prove that he was influenced by the idea of civil disobedience. According to him, Marx's explanation of capitalism brings out a dangerous revelation that human beings are likely to engage in economic activities for the sake of making a living instead of improving life. Thus, he cautions the adoption of the principles of capitalism without regulating human motive (King, 1960). Similarly, this teaching portrays that Martin Luther King indeed subscribed to the idea of civil disobedience in the sense that he was opposed to the policies that were established by governments to control economic activities. Conclusively, an individual can argue that both Gandhi and Martin were influenced by the concept of civil disobedience based on the few pieces of evidence highlighted above.
References
Gould, J. W. (1988). Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience. The Acorn, 3(2/1), 3-7.
King, M. L. (1960). Pilgrimage to nonviolence (p. 135). Fellowship Publications.
Thoreau, H. (2018). On the duty of civil disobedience. BoD–Books on Demand.
