Avoiding Crimes of Obedience: A Comparative Study of the Autobiographies of M. K. Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Abstract

This research aims to contribute to an understanding of how and why certain people are able to display prosocial disobedience behaviors, overcome unjust situations, and withstand persecutions deployed by authority. This article presents a hermeneutic content analysis of the autobiographical speeches and texts of Gandhi, M. L. King, and Mandela. The results show that the importance given to parents' value orientation, experiences of injustice during childhood, and exploration of alternative viewpoints during adolescence plays a crucial role in structuring prosocial disobedience. The findings also show that social responsibility and ingroup communication are important conditions for facing persecution without forsaking original goals.

Notes

¹M. L. King's autobiography is a collection of autobiographical narratives taken from King's major books, as well as manuscripts, speeches, letters, and sermons with autobiographical content. The editing work by Clayborne Carson was hardly intrusive, “preserving the integrity of King's statements and writing” (Carson, 1998, p. x).

²This and all subsequent quotes for Nelson Mandela are from Long Walk to Freedom (1994), unless otherwise noted.

³This and all subsequent quotes for M. K. Gandhi are from An Autobiography. The Story of My Experiments With Truth (1929), unless otherwise noted.

⁴This and all subsequent quotes for M. L. King, Jr. are from Carson's (1998) The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., unless otherwise noted.