good government, bad government, and moral behavior
Government is commonly regarded as a social agreement. We agree with our neighbors to follow laws, pay taxes, etc. in exchange for having cops, public schools, the right to elect representatives, etc.
As parties to that agreement, I'd argue that we have an ethical duty to keep up our end. Pay the IRS not merely because they will arrest you if you don't, but because it's your obligation as an honorable citizen. Obey laws even if you disagree with them, because you expect others to obey laws you agree with even if they'd rather not.
It even works for non-democratic governments. Feudal vassal-and-lord relationships. Communal or tribal relations. The obligations may or may not be symmetrical, but they are there. As long as you are free to leave, not a slave or a serf or imprisoned behind a Berlin Wall, then sticking around implies tacit acceptance, at least on some level.
But fleeing the country is not really practical on a regular basis. Are there other, ethical options when voting doesn't help? When your right to elect legislators is outweighed by corporate lobbyists, or even if a sizable chunk of your fellow citizens promote and enact government policies that you find deeply evil.
What are your ethical obligations to your fellow citizens when your mutual government is deeply flawed, corrupt, or unjust? Clearly you can't then simply rely on paying your taxes and following the law. Can we uncover bright, moral guidelines for when to resort to civil disobedience, emigration, secession, revolution?
As parties to that agreement, I'd argue that we have an ethical duty to keep up our end. Pay the IRS not merely because they will arrest you if you don't, but because it's your obligation as an honorable citizen. Obey laws even if you disagree with them, because you expect others to obey laws you agree with even if they'd rather not.
It even works for non-democratic governments. Feudal vassal-and-lord relationships. Communal or tribal relations. The obligations may or may not be symmetrical, but they are there. As long as you are free to leave, not a slave or a serf or imprisoned behind a Berlin Wall, then sticking around implies tacit acceptance, at least on some level.
But fleeing the country is not really practical on a regular basis. Are there other, ethical options when voting doesn't help? When your right to elect legislators is outweighed by corporate lobbyists, or even if a sizable chunk of your fellow citizens promote and enact government policies that you find deeply evil.
What are your ethical obligations to your fellow citizens when your mutual government is deeply flawed, corrupt, or unjust? Clearly you can't then simply rely on paying your taxes and following the law. Can we uncover bright, moral guidelines for when to resort to civil disobedience, emigration, secession, revolution?