How Does Civil Disobedience Affect Society

Disobedience is a very controversial topic due to the fact that history represents such a wide range of extremities of this ideology. Disobedience can be perceived in many different ways and it can either help or destroy the structure of society. An example of disobedience in society that has proved very successful in the past is civil disobedience. Throughout history, civil disobedience has made a huge impact on the U.S. government and is responsible for several popular social reforms. Many of the world’s most inspirational leaders used civil disobedience to reconstruct society and develop remarkable social change. Examples of these leaders include Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, and Rosa Parks. These people were able to
In “Opinions and Social Pressure,” social psychologist, Solomon Asch, concludes his findings of numerous experiments conducted to reveal the impact of peer pressure among the individual. His experiments consisted of seven to nine college students; one who was the focal subject of the experiment and the rest who were members of the group instructed to answer accordingly. After many trials and the introduction of different variables, Asch finds that a person who is presented with a partner in his independency, has a higher chance not to conform to the majority. Asch concludes, “With [the partners] support the subject usually resisted pressure from the majority: 18 of 27 subjects were completely independent. But after six trials the partner joined the majority. As soon as he did so, there was an abrupt rise in the subject’s errors” (Asch 181). The subjects do not conform once a partner resists conformity as well, however, as soon as their partner joins the majority, then they begin to join also. Author, Catherine Sanderson, provides reasoning as to why the subject conforms as soon as his partner does. In her book, “Social Psychology,” she presents strategies for resisting obedience. Sanderson claims, “People who are aware of the situational pressures that lead people to obey authorities are more likely to stand up to
Obedience shines a light on the negative aspects of humanity, whereas disobedience shines a light on the positive. It has been revealed how people will deny their own senses in order to remain indifferent from the majority (Asch). It was also exposed that some people are okay with possibly killing another human being as long as the victim is not considered their responsibility (Milgram). Both of these examples were a response of the individuals who chose to conform and obey rather than know the difference of what is morally right and wrong. Yet in the midst of it all areas of disobedience allows for different groups of people to come together and fight to evoke incredible change. However, disobedience is much more expensive than obedience. People willing to disobey must first find factors that will lead them to want to disobey and then pay the consequences after. On the other hand, suffering the consequences is a small price to pay compared to living with years of injustice. The factors that were discovered to aid in a person’s willingness to disobey, deception, education, and responsibility, all stimulate a certain degree of reflection. In contrast, members subject to obedience follow blindly with no reflection on the authority’s demands. This evidence directly relates to the findings by both Asch and Milgram. In their cases, the subjects were stripped of their individuality, which resulted in their conformity.