Thoreau on Government

Paper Summary:

According to the paper, Thoreau's essays give strong statements of the importance and power of conscience. The writer brings examples from the essays to illustrate Thoreau's theory that the compulsion of conscience can conflict with the laws of society so that the individual may have to express his deeply-felt beliefs and take the consequences. The paper concludes with a comparison to the beliefs of Martin Luther King, Jr.

From the Paper:

"Thoreau says that government is at best an expedient, a way to get things done for a time, but not a necessity in itself. Most governments in fact operate in a manner that is inexpedient, and he cites a number of instances of this, such as maintaining a standing army when that is not necessary. Thoreau says he is not asking for no government at all, at least in the immediate, but for better government, and as he then proceeds to show, civil disobedience is one way to express his view and to make his desires known."

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