John Rawls I shall begin by defining civil disobedience as a public, nonviolent, conscientious yet political act contrary to law usually done with the aim of bring about a change in the law or policies of the government. By acting in this way one addresses the sense of justice of the majority of the community and declares that in one's considered opinion the principles of social cooperation among free and equal men are not being respected. … [C]ivil disobedience … is an act guided and justified by political principles, that is, by the principles of justice which regulate the constitution and social institutions generally. … [I]n a reasonably just democratic regime there is a public conception of justice by reference to which citizens regulate their political affairs and interpret the constitution. The persistent and deliberate violation of the basic principles of this conception over any extended period of time, especially the infringement of the fundamental equal liberties, invites either submission or resistance. … Civil disobedience … expresses disobedience to law within the limits of fidelity to law …. [F]idelity to law is expressed by the public and nonviolent nature of the action, by the willingness to accept the legal consequences of one's conduct.