by Tony Milligan (2013)
"Civil disobedience is a form of protest with a special standing with regards to the law that sets it apart from political violence. Such principled law-breaking has been witnessed in recent years over climate change, economic strife, and the treatment of animals. Civil disobedience is examined here in the context of contemporary political activism, in the light of classic accounts by Thoreau, Tolstoy, and Gandhi to call for a broader attitude towards what civil disobedience involves. The question of violence is discussed, arguing that civil disobedience need only be aspirationally non-violent and that although some protests do not clearly constitute law-breaking they may render people liable to arrest. For example, while there may not be violence against persons, there may be property damage, as seen in raids upon animal laboratories. Such forms of militancy raise ethical and legal questions. Arguing for a less restrictive theory of civil disobedience, the book will be a valuable resource for anyone studying social movements and issues of political philosophy, social justice, and global ethics."--Publisher's website.
Richard Wayne Wills, Sr
Richard Wills focuses on one particular aspect of King's theology - 'Imago Dei' - the idea that human beings are made in God's image. For King, this meant that human beings have not only the right but also the power to reshape society and to build a 'Beloved Community' on earth. Wills relates this theory to King's civil rights beliefs.
Greg Moses
In a world where we continue to settle our differences with guns and bombs, many of us perceive any philosophy of nonviolence as passive, outdated, and intrinsically bound to religious beliefs. We laud one of the most famous proponents of nonviolent resistance, Martin Luther King, Jr., as an activist and orator, but seldom acknowledge him as an important intellectual. Seeking to correct these misunderstandings, Greg Moses' powerful book at last recognizes King as one of the greatest thinkers of our time - one whose philosophy has deep, unappreciated roots and lasting consequences. Identifying five fundamental concepts shaping King's philosophy - equality, structure, direct action, love, and justice - this book traces the development of a secular logic of nonviolence. Reviewing the works of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, activist-scholar W. E. B. Du Bois, labor leader A. Philip Randolph, mystic theologian Howard Thurman, and Nobel laureate Ralph J. Bunche, Moses argues against the popular notion that King's principles of nonviolence were imported to black America from elsewhere. He situates these principles instead within African American intellectual history, showing how King's comprehensive and disciplined approach to liberation builds upon a rich legacy of militant struggle against oppression and offers a sturdy framework for critical activity in our complex world.
Harry M. Clor
The issue of public morality, so often at the center of heated debates about pornography, narcotics, public indecency, violent entertainments, "family values," et cetera, is at once a continuing reality and a persistent dilemma in our liberal society. With Public Morality and Liberal Society, Harry M. Clor makes an important contribution to this perennial and intensely debated theme by considering how public morality can be justified in theory and accommodated in practice within a liberal society. Clor's argument departs from the usual discussions of public morality - which spring from the premises of liberal philosophy and are oriented to an overriding concern with personal liberty or rights - and considers instead the moral interests and claims of the community as a whole. He maintains that a reasonable case can still be made for a publicly supported ethnic of self-restraint, and that this enterprise involves the definition of public morality, the articulation of its philosophic justification, and a consideration of its problems and prospects in the face of the community-weakening tendencies of liberal modernity. By systematically analyzing society's need for public morality and by confronting the major libertarian and egalitarian objections to it, Clor clearly shows that what is at stake in the debates about public decency and liberal society is nothing less than our communal self-understanding, our sense of what a liberal community is about, and our understanding of human well-being.
Gerry Spence
Never afraid to take on tough cases or tackle difficult issues, here in From Freedom to Slavery Gerry Spence comes at us uncensored, with his passions on fire. In this underground bestseller, which has come to define Spence's political philosophy, he speaks out against the destructive forces in America today - forces of government and corporate tyranny that are robbing us of our freedom - and he warns us that time is running out. In a dramatic new chapter, presented for the first time in a trade paperback edition, Spence recounts in astonishing detail the government shoot-out at Ruby Ridge and the resulting trial of separatist Randy Weaver, revealing the important lessons we must learn from this tragic case. Finally, Spence makes the eloquent case that we, as Americans, have delivered our freedoms to new masters: corporate and governmental conglomerates, our biased court system, and the censored media. From Freedom to Slavery is an urgent work that urges us to resist this tyranny, a book that must be read and discussed by all concerned citizens of our troubled land.