Misuses of Civil Disobedience

Civil disobedience is often hailed as an eloquent method of protest, a way of arousing the moral conscience of society. But today it can also be used by some students and black militants as a weapon in an assault on democratic institutions.

A strong case can be made for certain forms of civil disobedience, particularly in a democracy, when one is attempting to arouse public sympathy for a just cause. However, we have recently suffered from serious confusions about this matter. There is ambiguity about the meaning of “civil disobedience”; there is confusion about the proper use of the act and under what conditions it may be justifiably applied. Many actions performed in the name of civil disobedience have been improperl...