Henry David Thoreau s Civil Disobedience And Machiavelli

On March 13, 1964, Kitty Genovese was on her way back to her home in Queens, New York. Sometime before her home, she was attacked and stabbed by a serial killer. Despite thirty eight witnesses supposedly on scene, no one attempted to contact the police until the attacker was gone. This situation is a great example of a phenomenon called the bystander effect, which basically states that the more witnesses to a crime or major event, the less likely somebody will help. Basically, everyone believes someone else will be the first to provide assistance. The same applies to society, especially in the institution of politics. United States, a democratic society, allows all their citizens to vote. However, despite a system which enables the citizen to be independent, ironically it may sometimes encourage conformity. Both Henry David Thoreau, famous for his discussions on a subject that is a title of his essay Civil Disobedience and Machiavelli, author of The Qualities of the Prince, notice a pattern of conformity in society. When a major voting decision is not supported by a majority, people will often wait rather than advertise and fruitfully support their cause. Believing that their cause can only succeed if the majority is supportive, they wait until their chance is best to propose change. Machiavelli takes note of this behavior and writes a â€Å"manifesto† for a would-be prince to remain in charge and popular within the society. Thoreau’s speech about the factors leading to anShow MoreRelatedHenry Thoreau And Niccolo Machiavelli1049 Words   |  5 Pagesthem and develop them in others is the foundation for reaching goals and being successful in a leadership position. Henry David Thoreau and Niccolo Machiavelli are two men who have influenced some of the most influential people in the world, as the two were writing to different audiences, it s easy to see why their ideologies might clash or unite; Henry Thoreau and Niccolo Machiavelli both use an abun dant amount of rhetorical strategies in both of their stories, including ethos, pathos, and logos;Read MoreHenry David Thoreau s Civil Disobedience1124 Words   |  5 Pageseveryone s rights safe, our government is a democracy since we were once under a tyrannical government, and it keeps order. Three famous writers known as Henry David Thoreau with Civil Disobedience, Niccolo Machiavelli with The Qualities of a Prince, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau with The Origin of Civil Society wrote about a civilized society versus a tyrannical government. Sometimes their views agreed with mine and other times they did not. Henry David Thoreau s writing, Civil Disobedience, he explainsRead MoreCivil Disobedience : An Important Part Of Society1712 Words   |  7 PagesCivil Disobedience in Democratic Society On December 1st, 1955 a 42 year old African American woman named Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery and refused to give up her seat to a white passenger after the whites-only section was filled. This is one of the most prominent examples of civil disobedience in history, as Rosa Parks’ refusal and arrest for her actions were in her own best interest as well as the interests of other people and against the segregation laws at the time; however, the black