Australian psychiatrist and author Dr. Niall McLaren believes civil disobedience presents a means of stopping domination hierarchies in a society spiraling towards outright fascism.

McLaren believes humans have a natural disposition towards forms of domination and if left unchecked, a political system of “narcisso-fascism” arises. McLaren told In Context:

“We see this playing out in the world every day, but none clearer than in the U.S., where their president is obsessed to the point of mania with forcing everybody to do as he tells them: ‘Do as we say or we’ll slap tariffs and sanctions on you, we’ll deport you or blow you up.’ He doesn’t care how much he damages people or even his own country, as long as he can order people around, he’s happy. As is typical, he constantly tests the limits.”

Similarly, in order to block criticism of the Israeli genocide, the U.K. government has proscribed a non-violent organisation, Palestine Action, as terrorist. Citizens are outraged and are deliberately flouting this unjust law to get arrested. However, instead of admitting they made a mistake, the government has intensified its efforts to suppress opposition.

Civil disobedience is based in the ancient idea known as lex iniusta non est lex — an unjust law is not a law. Any individual law must be consistent with the over-arching principle of universal justice.

“Civil disobedience is the last, inalienable right and duty of citizens to prevent the growth of tyranny.”

Championing civil disobedience as a means of arresting civilisational collapse and barbarism has a long history.

In the 1950s, psychoanalytic theorist and author Erich Fromm argued civil disobedience was a necessary virtue and that our capacity to criticise and disobey may be all that stands between human progress and the end of civilization.