Murray N. Rothbard
(1926–1995) American economist of the Austrian School, libertarian political theorist, and historian
“An unjust law is itself a species of violence.”
Non-Violence in Peace & War (1962) Vol. 2, edited by Mahadev Haribhai Desai, p. 144
Posthumous publications (1950s and later)
Context: An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so. Now the law of nonviolence says that violence should be resisted not by counter-violence but by nonviolence. This I do by breaking the law and by peacefully submitting to arrest and imprisonment.
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Mahatma Gandhi 238
pre-eminent leader of Indian nationalism during British-rul… 1869–1948Related quotes
“An unjust law is no law at all.”
Aurelius Augustinus
(354–430) early Christian theologian and philosopher
On Free Choice Of The Will, Book 1, § 5
“A unjust law, is no law at all.”
Martin Luther
(1483–1546) seminal figure in Protestant Reformation
Source: Bibelausgaben, Die Bibel nach der Übersetzung Martin Luthers, mit Apokryphen, Neue Rechtschreibung, Schwarz
Martin Luther King, Jr.
(1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement
1960s, (1963)
“Not all violence is equally reprehensible; not all wars are equally unjust.”
Susan Sontag
(1933–2004) American writer and filmmaker, professor, and activist
"Why Are We in Kosovo?", The New York Times (2 May 1999)
Context: Not surprisingly, the Serbs are presenting themselves as the victims. (Clinton equals Hitler, etc.) But it is grotesque to equate the casualties inflicted by the NATO bombing with the mayhem inflicted on hundreds of thousands of people in the last eight years by the Serb programs of ethnic cleansing.
Not all violence is equally reprehensible; not all wars are equally unjust.
No forceful response to the violence of a state against peoples who are nominally its own citizens? (Which is what most "wars" are today. Not wars between states.) The principal instances of mass violence in the world today are those committed by governments within their own legally recognized borders. Can we really say there is no response to this?
Martin Luther King, Jr.
(1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement
1960s, (1963)
“There is no justice in following unjust laws.”
Aaron Swartz
(1986–2013) computer programmer and internet-political activist
Guerilla Open Access Manifesto (July 2008) http://archive.org/details/GuerillaOpenAccessManifesto.
Context: There is no justice in following unjust laws. It’s time to come into the light and, in the grand tradition of civil disobedience, declare our opposition to this private theft of public culture.
We need to take information, wherever it is stored, make our copies and share them with the world. We need to take stuff that's out of copyright and add it to the archive. We need to buy secret databases and put them on the Web. We need to download scientific journals and upload them to file sharing networks. We need to fight for Guerilla Open Access.
With enough of us, around the world, we’ll not just send a strong message opposing the privatization of knowledge — we’ll make it a thing of the past. Will you join us?
“One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
(1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement
Martin Luther King, Jr.
(1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement
Interview in Playboy (January 1965) https://web.archive.org/web/20080706183244/http://www.playboy.com/arts-entertainment/features/mlk/04.html
1960s