Civility and Disobedience

Originally published in 1975, this book seeks to examine the problem of political obligation: when are we obligated to obey the laws? It presents a critique of traditional justifications of obligation - especially of social contract theory - and attempts to develop a fresh theory of obligation as both justified and limited by the need to substitute the culture of civility for the violence and barbarism of pre-political society. Civility, it is argued, can be attained by the creation of a common political life, characterised by equality, liberty, participation, and accountability of public authority. Dr Zwiebach’s argument on behalf of a broadened conception of civility and disobedience was a significant contribution to the important dialogue on political obligation, on a more civilised notion as ‘common life’, on ‘right’, ‘politics’, and on the strengths and weaknesses of the theory and practice of liberalism.