{"id":2843,"date":"2026-08-14T15:17:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T19:17:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/public-policy-journal\/?page_id=2843"},"modified":"2026-08-14T15:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T19:30:00","slug":"martin-luther-king-jr-jean-jacques-rousseau-and-civil-disobedience-reconsidered","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/public-policy-journal\/in-print\/volume-23-special-issue-2025\/martin-luther-king-jr-jean-jacques-rousseau-and-civil-disobedience-reconsidered\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMartin Luther King, Jr., Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Civil Disobedience Reconsidered\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On April 12, 1963, Civil Rights protestors affiliated with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and led by, among others, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were arrested en masse in Birmingham, Alabama, in just one of many such protests throughout the turbulent decades of the 1950s and 1960s. Written during his subsequent confinement, and in response to public criticism of the \u201cuntimeliness\u201d of civil rights actions by eight leading members of Birmingham\u2019s clergy, King\u2019s \u201cLetter from Birmingham Jail\u201d does more than merely memorialize that particular civil rights demonstration. It has come to be recognized as one of the great philosophical articulations of non-violent resistance in the history of political thought. In this masterful piece of political rhetoric King outlines his criteria for civil disobedience and anchors these justifications for passive resistance in a broad and complex tradition of natural law thinking.<\/p>\n<p>Scholars have identified numerous intellectual sources for King\u2019s arguments in the \u201cLetter.\u201d These include religious figures such as Saint Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Paul Tillich among other Christian thinkers, and King\u2019s central distinction between just and unjust laws explicitly references the Thomistic conception of natural law.\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_2843_1' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_2843_1'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>1<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_2843_1' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #1<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_2843_1' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_2843_1' tabindex='-1'>1<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #1 content: <\/span><em>See, e.g.<\/em>, VINCENT W. LLOYD, <em>On Martin Luther King, Jr.<\/em>, <em>in<\/em> BLACK NATURAL LAW (2016). For King\u2019s references to these Christian figures, see MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., <em>Letter from Birmingham Jail<\/em>, <em>in<\/em> WHY WE CAN\u2019T WAIT 91, 93\u201394 (2000) [hereinafter <em>King\u2019s Birmingham Letter<\/em>.].\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t Likewise, King cites the Jewish theologian Martin Buber by way of analogizing segregation in terms of an \u201cI-it\u201d rather than an \u201cI-thou\u201d relationship.\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_2843_2' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_2843_2'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>2<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_2843_2' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #2<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_2843_2' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_2843_2' tabindex='-1'>2<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #2 content: <\/span>KING, <em>supra<\/em> note 1, at 94.\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t Besides these appeals to the Christian and Jewish traditions, other commentators have stressed the importance of non-Western influences, in particular the writings of Mahatmas Gandhi, whose strategy of passive resistance and \u201cspiritual purification\u201d did so much to inform King\u2019s unique species of non-violent social activism.\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_2843_3' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_2843_3'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>3<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_2843_3' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #3<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_2843_3' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_2843_3' tabindex='-1'>3<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #3 content: <\/span>For a more extensive discussion of this relationship, see Karuna Mantena,<em> Showdown for<\/em>\n<em>Nonviolence: The Theory and Practice of Nonviolent Politics<\/em>, <em>in<\/em> TO SHAPE A NEW WORLD: ESSAYS ON THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. 78 (Tommie Shelby &amp; Brandon M. Terry eds., 2018).\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<p>More recently, however, archival materials have come to light that reveal an even wider range of philosophical sources which may have shaped King\u2019s thinking on matters of law, social justice, and resistance. The publication of King\u2019s collected papers offers a fascinating glimpse of his reading and teaching from the period immediately preceding the Birmingham protests. We now have King\u2019s handwritten \u201coutline\u201d of a draft syllabus from a \u201cSeminar in Social Philosophy\u201d which he co-taught at Morehouse College in Atlanta in the Fall 1961 semester, for example, as well as his final examination questions for the seminar.\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_2843_4' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_2843_4'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>4<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_2843_4' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #4<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_2843_4' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_2843_4' tabindex='-1'>4<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #4 content: <\/span>These two documents from the King Papers have recently been published online. See Justin Weinberg, Martin Luther King, Jr.\u2019s Social Philosophy Course, DAILY NOUS (Jan. 16, 2023, 7:15 AM), https:\/\/dailynous.com\/2023\/01\/16\/martin-luther-king-jr-s-social-philosophy-course [https:\/\/perma.cc\/9VEA-QJFA].\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t Drawing on hints from these and other archival materials, as well as a close reading of \u201cLetter from Birmingham Jail,\u201d the following essay advances three main claims about King\u2019s intellectual influences and the tradition of civil disobedience more broadly.<\/p>\n<p>First, I propose a novel source of inspiration for King\u2019s \u201cLetter:\u201d namely, the Genevan political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Although Rousseau is never mentioned in the \u201cLetter,\u201d I want to explore similarities between King\u2019s criteria for distinguishing between just and unjust laws and Rousseau\u2019s treatment of law in the <em>Social Contract<\/em>. This comparison is apposite, I contend, insofar as King was teaching and thinking about Rousseau\u2019s political philosophy less than a year and a half before the civil rights protests in Birmingham. While it may be impossible to demonstrate conclusively the extent of Rousseau\u2019s influence, a consideration of King\u2019s political philosophy in light of Rousseau\u2019s seminal <em>Social Contract<\/em> brings to the foreground unique aspects of King\u2019s \u201cLetter.\u201d Besides illuminating King\u2019s understanding of natural law and civil disobedience, my second claim is that these comparisons draw attention to the flip-side of Rousseau\u2019s defense of political obligation as well. Rather than an unqualified defender of patriotism, civic duty, and love of country, Rousseau acknowledges, as per King, that not all laws are just and legitimate. Even for Rousseau, as we will see, political obligation has its limits. Finally, and more broadly, King\u2019s recourse to Rousseau reminds us of the extent to which doctrines of civil disobedience may be rooted not only in the substantive dimensions of natural law thinking, but also in certain formal criteria for law. For King, Rousseau, and many other \u201cnatural law\u201d thinkers such as Lon Fuller, the legitimacy of law hinges as much on satisfying requisite conditions of generality, popularity, and non-arbitrariness as its substantive accordance with a higher moral law.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/public-policy-journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2026\/08\/23-S-Boyd.pdf\">Continue reading \u201cMartin Luther King, Jr., Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Civil Disobedience Reconsidered\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On April 12, 1963, Civil Rights protestors affiliated with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and led by, among others, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were arrested en masse in Birmingham, Alabama, in just one of many such protests throughout the turbulent decades of the 1950s and 1960s. Written during his subsequent confinement, and in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"parent":2814,"menu_order":7,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"abstract.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2843","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/public-policy-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/public-policy-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/public-policy-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/public-policy-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/public-policy-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2843"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/public-policy-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2873,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/public-policy-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2843\/revisions\/2873"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/public-policy-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/public-policy-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}