Book Detective

Civil Disobedience is one of the most importance works of philosophy ever written. Like all great works of philosophy, it is as relevant today as it has ever been, as it transcends space and time.

Don't let the abolitionist nature mislead you: this book is not merely about abolition and slavery. Rather, it is about Man Against the State, individuality, and Thoreau's philosophy of how one man can stand up to government and society, driven by his own convictions of right and wrong, as summarized by the timeless quote "Any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one already".

Thoreau's main point is that the best - and many times, the only - method for fighting injustice is through passive disobedience. By refusing to cooperate with the machinery of injustice, the individual can become the friction that stops the machine. Active resistance is bound for failure, as the machine (the State, society, etc.) is too formidable for the individual to fight. But, by refusing to cooperate, justice can be achieved and injustice toppled.

If you are looking for a marvelous primer on individuality and the fight for justice, start with this book.

Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Letters to a Young Contrarian by Christopher Hitchens

Self-Reliance and Other Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Soul of Man under Socialism by Oscar Wilde

Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Walking by Henry David Thoreau

The Lion and the Unicorn by George Orwell

Resistance, Rebellion, and Death by Albert Camus

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

On Friendship by Michel de Montaigne

Political Fictions by Joan Didion

In Praise of Prejudice by Theodore Dalrymple

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

The Age Of Reason by Thomas Paine

Where I Lived, and What I Lived For by Henry David Thoreau

The Republic by Plato

Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes

Between Past and Future by Hannah Arendt

Rights of Man by Thomas Paine