Question

a minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority; it is not even a minority then, but it is irresistible when it clogs by its whole weight. if the alternative is to keep all just men in prison, or give up war and slavery, the state will not hesitate which to choose. if a thousand men were not to pay their tax bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the state to commit violence and shed innocent blood.
—\civil disobedience,\
henry david thoreau

according to thoreau, why would people be justified in not paying their taxes? choose three correct answers.

the state refuses to
negotiate with war
protestors.

these particular taxes
are illegal.

the crime that the state
is committing is worse
than the crime of
withholding taxes.

tax money is funding a
violent, unjust war.

acts of civil
disobedience such as
withholding taxes are
justified to voting

Explanation:

1. Analyze the first option: The passage does not mention the state refusing to negotiate with war protestors, so this is incorrect.
2. Analyze the second option: The passage does not state that the taxes are illegal, so this is incorrect.
3. Analyze the third option: From the passage, "If a thousand men were not to pay their tax bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood", this implies the state's crime (using tax money for violence) is worse than withholding taxes, so this is correct.
4. Analyze the fourth option: The passage implies that tax money is used for war (which is violent and unjust as per the context of "give up war and slavery"), so tax money funding a violent, unjust war is a reason, this is correct.
5. Analyze the fifth option (partially visible but from context of civil disobedience and the passage's logic about the state's violence): Acts of civil disobedience like withholding taxes are justified to avoid enabling the state's violence, so this is correct (assuming the full option is about justifying civil disobedience to prevent state's unjust actions).

Answer:

• The crime that the state is committing is worse than the crime of withholding taxes.
• Tax money is funding a violent, unjust war.
• Acts of civil disobedience such as withholding taxes are justified to prevent the state from committing violence. (Assuming the fifth option's full context aligns with this, and the other two incorrect options are eliminated as explained.)