Civil Disobedience Group

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althia-daly
althia-daly

According to Thoreau, what is the flaw in majority rule?

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Posted by althia-daly on Thursday February 26, 2009 at 4:59 PM and tagged with civil disobedience.

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  1. dneshan
    dneshan Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    According to Thoreau in “Civil Disobedience”, the flaw in majority rule is just that – the government is ruled by the majority and the minority is left out.  Thoreau states,

         “But government in which the majority rule in all cases can not  be based on justice, even as far as men understand it.”

     

    By this, he means that it does not serve all people if it is only one group, no matter how large a group, who decides what is best for all.  Thoreau continues the essay by saying that people should be allowed to govern themselves and should know the difference between right and wrong and adhere to that without being overruled by the “majority”.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/civil-disobedience-text/civil-disob...

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    Posted by dneshan on Friday February 27, 2009 at 6:10 PM