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Civil Obedience And Nonviolent Resistance, And Civil Disobedience

3699 Words15 Pages

Chiu Wing Keung (1155048829)
Mr. CHOY, Chi Keung
GESC2190 Great People and Great Speech
15 Dec 2014
Take Home Examination
Question 1
A. Introduction
Civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance are significant means for people to fight for what they want for long. By refusing to cooperate, usually with the government, people can use their power to strike for justice and freedom without any use of violence, to change the current unjust situation, to gain what they deserve. In modern societies, which value the importance of human rights, peace, justice and more, nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience are more easily-accepted methods of protest generally.
In this essay, these two strategies of protest will be discussed, with Gandhi and Martin Luther King’s uses as examples and a look into Hong Kong’s recent use of civil disobedience.
B. What are Civil Disobedience and Nonviolent Resistance
Nonviolent resistance is “the practice of employing symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, and other methods to achieve socio-political goals, without any violence involved.” (US Legal, Inc., 2014) Civil disobedience is a kind of it.
Civil disobedience is originated by Henry D. Thoreau, an American author and philosopher. Civil disobedience, according to John Rawls, means “a politically-motivated, public, non-violent and conscientious breach of law undertaken with the aim of bringing about a change in laws or government policies.” (Brownlee,

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