# Do We Have a Duty to Obey the Government? **URL:** **By** Jason Brennan, Aaron Ross Powell, Trevor Burrus **Published:** December 2, 2013 --- Jason Brennan joins us for a discussion on political obligation. Are we ethically obligated to obey the government? If so, why? If not, why not? Jason Brennan joins Aaron and Trevor for a discussion about political obligation. Conventional wisdom holds that governments make laws and their citizens have a duty to obey them. Most people think that's so obvious that we don't even really need to discuss it. But is it? Governments certainly _want_ us to obey them, but what sort of arguments are there for why we should? Brennan is Assistant Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy at Georgetown University. Jason is the author of three books: _Libertarianism: What Everyone Needs to Know_, _The Ethics of Voting_, and, with David Schmidtz, _A Brief History of Liberty_. He is also a regular contributor to the blog [Bleeding Heart Libertarians](http://www.bleedingheartlibertarians.com/).