Towards the end of Civil Disobedience, Thoreau states "There will never be a truly free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize individuals as a superior and independent power " (Thoreau ). The government can never progress as a unit if it fails to recognize its people and respect all individuals. Thoreau does not want the government to see him as a more exclusive individual, but would prefer to coordinate with the government. However, it is difficult to achieve this because the laws are very unfair. He reassures that democracy is not the last step in progress for the government, he argues that there is much more to improve as long as the government can fully recognize the freedom and rights that every individual deserves. He also dreams of a perfect state, where the state respects all individuals and where it would not care if some individuals chose to live apart from the state. However, Thoreau strongly emphasizes the fact that there will never truly be a "free and enlightened State", without the State recognizing its people and learning to respect all