For Thoreau, the ideal government is the government that governs least. His ideal is of a limited government with limited functions, leaving the individual with as much freedom as humanly possible. The government has no right over the individual's life and property beyond that which is granted by his express consent. The consent of the governed is a crucial principle for Thoreau. If it is not adhered to, then governments have an alarming tendency to...
Ironically, even though popular culture now firmly associates Henry David Thoreau with the concept of “civil disobedience,” the truth is that the author never used this phrase in his famous essay. Nor can it be found in any of his other writings.
Thoreau first presented his opinions on the subject in two lectures that he read in his hometown of Concord, Massachusetts, in early 1848. The first was called “Relation of Individual to State,” and...
