When All Else Fails
eBook - PDF

When All Else Fails

The Ethics of Resistance to State Injustice

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

When All Else Fails

The Ethics of Resistance to State Injustice

About this book

Why you have the right to resist unjust government

The economist Albert O. Hirschman famously argued that citizens of democracies have only three possible responses to injustice or wrongdoing by their governments: we may leave, complain, or comply. But in When All Else Fails, Jason Brennan argues that there is a fourth option. When governments violate our rights, we may resist. We may even have a moral duty to do so.

For centuries, almost everyone has believed that we must allow the government and its representatives to act without interference, no matter how they behave. We may complain, protest, sue, or vote officials out, but we can't fight back. But Brennan makes the case that we have no duty to allow the state or its agents to commit injustice. We have every right to react with acts of "uncivil disobedience." We may resist arrest for violation of unjust laws. We may disobey orders, sabotage government property, or reveal classified information. We may deceive ignorant, irrational, or malicious voters. We may even use force in self-defense or to defend others.

The result is a provocative challenge to long-held beliefs about how citizens may respond when government officials behave unjustly or abuse their power.

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Yes, you can access When All Else Fails by Jason Brennan in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophy & Ethics & Moral Philosophy. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Preface: Dangerous Philosophy
  7. Chapter 1: Resistance: The Fourth Option
  8. Chapter 2: Defensive Ethics: The General Framework
  9. Chapter 3: The Government Authority Argument for Special Immunity
  10. Chapter 4: Other General Arguments for Special Immunity
  11. Chapter 5: Just Say No: The Ethics of Following Unjust Orders
  12. Chapter 6: Lying with Intent to Sabotage
  13. Chapter 7: Vigilante Justices: What Judges Should Do in Response to Unjust Law
  14. Chapter 8: Must You Resist? Some Closing Thoughts
  15. Notes
  16. Bibliography
  17. Index