Every individual in a society has a responsibility to obey just laws and to disobey and resist unjust laws.Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure

Laws are the fundamental principles laid down to ensure the judicious and prosperous functioning of a nation. In a democratic government, they are framed after rigorous procedure, considering every individual and after consent of all parties. The recommendation that every individual should be given the liberty to obey just laws and disobey unjust laws raises two very important concerns.

Firstly, it lays doubt on the credibility of authorities who have made the laws. It is true that sometimes law cannot be disadvantageous to a specific portion of society but that portion of society should consider that that the authorities have made the law taking consideration of entire state. It will be benefiting entire state as a whole. E.g. – Gujarat, a western state of India, has a prohibition law for the sales of liquor. People might feel that it is unjust as they crave for liquor but they should also understand that the authorities have put such a prohibition for the welfare of public. This act has helped in lowering down the rate of cancer deaths and violence incidents in the state. The authorities are being elected by the people of democratic nation and it is important that the people respect the authorities which they have elected.

Secondly, it can raise conflicts. If people are allowed to obey one law and disobey other, this can lead to disagreements and dissensions. Let us say, for one portion of society law 1 can be just and law 2 can be unjust. For the other it can be vice versa. To maintain equality in the nation, it is important that laws are followed unanimously across the entire nation.

Although it is not right to disobey any law, it is also important that if an unjust laws gets passed, the people of the nation raise a concern to the supreme authority justifying the unfair nature of the law. Every democratic nature has the provision where people are free to express their opinions in a nonviolent way and it becomes the duty of the government to listen to their opinions and then act accordingly.

Clubbing up all the points, I can say that all the laws need to be followed unanimously by the entire nation. If a law seems unjust, the people should raise their concern to the authorities who can incorporate their opinions in future amendments.