Issue17【0710G Victors互助小组】第5次作业

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Issue 17
"There are two types of laws: just and unjust. Every individual in a society has a responsibility to obey just laws and, even more importantly, to disobey and resist unjust laws."

The speaker asserts that the laws could be judged as just or unjust by individuals, according to which people should obey just laws and disobey and even resist the unjust ones. In my view the statement is too extreme in two aspects that discussed below.

In the first place, there is no clear and scientific rule to just the law. The type of law which might be just or unjust depends on individual’s interests are determined by subjective factors. Different people might have different judgments on the same law. Take a factory for example, according to the law, it is not allowed to drain the waste water directly to the near river unless the water has been handled to be satisfied with some certain standards. It is just for the denizen along the river, as the law could protect their living environment but is unjust for the owner of the factory that it cost them more money which could not bring them with any benefits. So, the same law could just   and unjust in the same. Also, different culture might hold different opinions on the same issue which leads to opposite laws. In recent years, the phenomenon of homosexual has always been a sensitive topic all over the world. Sweden could be the heaven of a homosexual, where the phenomenon is considered normal and legal. While one’s destiny could be quite opposite if the homosexual is in Russia, where the government refuse to confirm its validity.

Secondly, it would do harm to the society as a whole if the individuals disobey or even resist the law they consider unjust. A society can not survive without laws, which should be obeyed by all the people without any conditions. If people decide whether to obey the law only by their own standards, there would be no law, and also no society. The whole world would be confusion full with quarrels and wars.

In sum, a law is established to make the whole society run smoothly and it is established on the level of the society, which could be irreverent and partial if judged by individuals. Law is the law, which could only be judged by government and should be well judged and considered before establishing. As for individuals, there is no doubt that obedience should be the single choice.