Contrary to a widespread misconception, King did not favor absolute nonviolence, nor does his reasoning always require practitioners of civil disobedience to accept punishment. But he also strongly opposed rioting.
We don't need better manners, we need a commitment to mutual respect and tolerance, and space to live our lives as we see fit.
Is our country getting closer to living out the true meaning of its creed, "All men are created equal"?
Criticizing the law by calling for people to break it is an American tradition.
"Christian libertarians" Bayard Rustin and David Dellinger challenged state power and ended up leading the civil rights movement and anti-Vietnam War protests.
War by Other Means tells the story of those conscientious objectors who did not cooperate with the government's alternative-service schemes.
The president has urged the Chinese government to respect the rights of anti-lockdown demonstrators. He actively encouraged the Canadian government to end the trucker protests.
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How Stewart Rhodes went from denouncing authoritarianism to urging an authoritarian crackdown
In an age of elite scorn, government mandates, a rotten economy—and powerful, decentralized communication tools—common people are pushing back.
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Georgetown philosopher Jason Brennan offers a valuable summary of King's thought on these issues.
China's economic reforms were bottom-up, not top-down.
Small business owners and sheriffs are leading the revolt against Governor Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home orders, which they say are unscientific and ineffective.
"When I started my blog," says journalist Yoani Sánchez, "it was like an exorcism of something that was inside of me."
And it isn't alone. Pennsylvania has banned indoor dining through the end of the year, but dozens of businesses are banding together to defy the mandate.
Individually and in organized groups, people are pushing back against lockdown orders.
Using police to forcefully shut down Mac's Public House is a violation of liberty and a waste of resources.
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Who could have predicted that intolerable rules won’t be tolerated?
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So far, they don't seem to have actually closed the borders. But his threat probably has a different aim.
Martin Luther King explained why they are "socially destructive and self-defeating."
Increasing tensions between the military-backed ruling class and the student-led democracy movement have prompted massive rallies in the capital.
Thirty-one years ago, an unidentified man held off Chinese military tanks in Tiananmen Square. Protesters facing down state violence today have big shoes to fill.
Several courts have invalidated elements of state shelter-in-place orders. Constitutional law Professor Josh Blackman says that the longer they continue, the less legal they become.
New legislation proposed in Beijing signals the likely end of the "one country, two systems" policy that has allowed Hong Kong to flourish.
Privacy activists say we should be alarmed by the rise of automated facial recognition surveillance. Transhumanist Zoltan Istvan says it's time to embrace the end of privacy as we know it.
We may find that we like making our own decisions.
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The more punitive the approach to public health, the fiercer the backlash.
Can we take government officials at their word that they'll eventually abandon their new powers?
The government is perfectly capable of counting heads in a less-intrusive and more-hygienic way.
Speech was more varied and vibrant than ever before—and then the backlash began.
Encryption, other privacy measures, and decentralization have made the protest movement possible.
Under Chinese authoritarianism, they'll have neither.
"If we lose...we will lose a generation."
The formal withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill won't be enough to stop the protest movement.
Government officials fail to follow Supreme Court decisions at their own risk.
Pro-democracy dissidents turned violent yesterday at Hong Kong's airport.
Nine people were injured during the weekend's protests in Hong Kong, including one woman who might be permanently blind after a violent encounter with the police.
As Beijing develops a high-tech police state, Hongkongers develop ways to resist it.
It's become nothing but a weapon fought over by people who want to smash each other—and you.
Also: Mike Lee says Congress must reassert power over the presidency. And so long to Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Improving smuggling efforts isn't ideal, but it's better than just watching kids get torn from their families.
He was one of the world's greatest theorists of nonviolent revolution. But don't call him a pacifist.