How to Overthrow the Government

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Locke drew on the Old Testament story of Hezekiah's rebellion against the King of Assyria to make the case that God supported any people rebelling against unrighteous rule, saying that "it is plain that shaking off a power which force, and not right, hath set over any one, though it hath the name of rebellion, yet it is no offence before God, but that which He allows and countenances".

but then, I went on to read his extended title: An Historical and hypothetical survey of revolution, civil and sedition. That seditions and insurrections are, unhappily, maladies as inseparable from the body politic as tumours and eruptions from the natural body; that the idea of governing all at all times by the simple force of law (which we have been told is the only admissible principle of republican government) has no place but in the reveries of those political doctors whose sagacity disdains the admonitions of experimental instruction. It must be without retribution or punishment; and the reason he gives is, 'because an inferior cannot punish a superior'.

This book is written without extensive documentation yet is sufficient for you to understand the past actions and allow you to realize just how delicate is the balance of a sound and effective government. In other writings, he used the analogy of a robber to explain why tyrannical infringement on property makes for unjust law: "Should a robber break into my house, and, with a dagger at my throat, make me seal deeds to convey my estate to him, would this give him any title? The Congressional Globe: containing The Debates and Proceedings of the Second Session of the Thirty-Sixth Congress: also, of the Special Session of the Senate". In contrary to this view, the French Enlightenment thinker Montesquieu believed that this institution successfully hindered the abuse of power, thanks to the existing precondition of a powerful patriotism felt by the Cretans towards their island. leaders rationalized many of these interventions as necessary for preventing the spread of communism according to the Cold War domino theory.

The faith of the people of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican form of government, and, subject to this limitation only, they have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient. All power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their peace, safety and happiness. Mohammad Mosaddegh, Prime Minister of Iran from 1951-1953, with US Secretary of State Dean Acheson, in Washington, D.

Immanuel Kant [ edit ] John Stuart Mill was a proponent of the right to revolution in the name of liberty. Support visionary cinema and audiovisual art and help us make independent film, discovery and inspiration accessible for everyone. Descriptions of the Right of Revolution also differ in whether that right is considered to be a natural law (a law whose content is set by nature and that therefore has validity everywhere) or positive law (law enacted or adopted by proper authority for governing of the state). Some have argued that because in modern times democratic governments can be overthrown by popular vote, the right of the people to remove the government has become embedded into the political system.

Fritz, American Sovereigns: The People and America's Constitutional Tradition Before the Civil War (Cambridge University Press, 2008), 14 (noting that under English constitutional law the right of revolution "belonged to the community as a whole, as one of the parties to the original constitutional contract"). Although many declarations of independence seek legitimacy by appealing to the right of revolution, far fewer constitutions mention this right or guarantee this right to citizens because of the destabilizing effect such a guarantee would likely produce. Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. The initial content for the Encyclopedia was seeded from UIA’s Yearbook of International Organizations. The phraseology was considerably changed to effect consolidation but without any change of substance.The Jesuits, especially Robert Bellarmine and Juan de Mariana, were widely known and often feared for advocating resistance to tyranny and often tyrannicide—one of the implications of the natural law focus of the School of Salamanca. Indeed, he purposely used Wikipedia, at the beginning, which most of us routinely use; and, in referencing his point, he included a link to where further information could be found if readers wanted to learn more. Revolutionary movements subsequent to this, all drew on Locke's theory as a justification for the exercise of the right of revolution. Not only because of personal interest, but above all because they themselves are out of ideas about this.