The general argument made by Henry D. Thoreau in his work Civil Disobedience is that the government should not affect people’s way of thinking and so to say their conscience. More specifically, Thoreau argues that many people allow the government to influence how they go about doing certain things. He writes “I heartily accept the motto, "That government is best which governs least"; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe— "That government is best which governs not at all.” (pg 716) In this passage Thoreau sis suggesting that the most successful government is the government that doesn’t govern as much and gives people their freedom to a certain extent. If you look at the governments across the country where they govern too much you see certain problems arise because the government is too overruling and forceful. Also the time period when he wrote this is very relevant to his writing. It was written in 1817 when slavery was going on. In conclusion Thoreau was simply saying that the government is too strict and it would be best if they didn’t govern at all.
In my view Thoreau is wrong. I think that it is good to have government to an extent so that the people don’t go crazy and take advantage of not having a set system. I also think that too much government can be bad. I think that there needs to be a happy medium, and that the government shouldn’t be too strict and also shouldn’t be too lenient. Although Thoreau might object in having a government that governs too much, I think that government needs to govern to a certain extent. Therefore, I conclude that we need to have a government that governs, but they can’t be too strict, because then people start to rebel more and to disrespect the government which can also cause major havoc.
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