What about majority rule does Thoreau have a problem with what is the only obligation he feels he must commit to?
Explain what Thoreau thinks is wrong with majority rule. What does he say is the only obligation he has a right to assume? He thinks that he has the obligation to only do what he believes is right. Thoreau says a man does not have a duty to eradicate wrong, but he does have the duty “to wash his hands of it.
Why does Thoreau believe that a government in which majority rule in all cases Cannot be based on justice even as far as men understand it?
Essentially, Thoreau believes that a government based on majority rule will not be a just one because the majority is simply the strongest group, not necessarily the right group.
What is his problem with voting Thoreau?
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.
Why does Thoreau have majority rule?
The majority rules because it’s stronger than any other group. Majority rule is a problem because it does not represent the entire group. Why was Thoreau put in jail?
What system of government does Thoreau think is best?
How does Thoreau define the best possible kind of government? Thoreau envisions the best kind of government as on that does not govern. He supports laissez-faire (free enterprise, free trade, noninterfering).
Is Thoreau’s opinion of majority rule fair or unfair?
Close Reading Questions. 1. According to Thoreau, what is the basis of majority rule? He contends that majority rule is not based on justice or fairness but rather on nothing more than the fact that the majority is physically stronger than the minority.
What is a citizen’s highest duty according to Thoreau?
Preview: In this classic essay, Thoreau describes the highest duty of good citizens. They must do what they think is right, even at the cost of going to jail. Written more than a century ago, this essay still stirs the mind and the heart.
What are the three types of men according to Thoreau?
The first group is soldiers or war type men, “the militia, jailers, constables,etc.” These men do not think. They are told by the state exactly what to do. The second group is made up of lawyers and legislators and ministers who use their minds but still guided by the state.
What did Thoreau say about voting?
In Thoreau’s language, “All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers and backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions, and betting naturally accompanies it. The character of the voters is not staked.
What is once well done is done forever?
For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once well done is done forever. Thoreau believed that individuals could be free only if their actions were true to their own beliefs, with or without the support or approval of the community, or of friends and family.
What are 2 dangers of paying the law undue respect?
What two dangers does Thoreau see in paying the law “undue respect”? First, if a law is unjust, and we follow it, we are made “agents of injustice,” that is, we commit injustice ourselves.
What can be the consequences of having too much respect for the law?
Too much respect for law leads people to do many unjust things, as war illustrates: Soldiers become only a shadow of their humanity; the government shapes them into machines. Soldiers have no opportunity to exercise moral sense, reduced to the existence comparable to that of a horse or dog.
What is the only obligation Thoreau says he has a right to assume?
According to Thoreau, what should be respected more than the law? “Must the citizen ever for a moment… resign his conscience to the legislator?” “The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think is right.”
What is the rule of expediency?
1. Appropriateness to the purpose at hand. 2. Adherence to self-serving means: a politician, guided by expediency rather than principle.