Nonviolence

As an introduction to non-violence, I offer you the following text, taken from my presentation on non-violence given to the SIUC Undergraduate Philosophy Club on 12 February 2002. I invite you to visit the Links page for more information on non-violence.

Non-Violence is Justice

A Presentation to the SIUC Undergraduate Philosophy Club

by Treesong
(12 February 2002)

“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.



“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.



“With nonviolent resistance, no individual or group need submit to any wrong, nor need anyone resort to violence in order to right a wrong.”

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Questions addressed in this presentation:

• What is non-violence?
• How does non-violence define and defend justice?
• How does the violence of a “just war” fail to define and defend justice?
• How does non-violence approach the “War on Terrorism?”

1. What is non-violence?

a. Non-violence is an ethical theory and practice based on a loveof life which holds the sanctity of life to be inviolable.

b. Non-violence means more than “not violent.”

 i. The non-violent principle of the sanctity of life is positive, not negative.

 ii. Non-violence is an active practice. It does not tolerate passivity or inaction. Failure to resist violence is complicity with violence.

c. Non-violence is a search for truth. Through non-violence, we open up an opportunity for the principles and practical power of truth, not the meaningless victory of force, to resolve conflicts.




2. How does non-violence define and secure justice?

a. Non-violence defines justice in terms of the sanctity of life.

 i. The cherishing and preservation of life, both in its quality and its continuation, is the central principle of justice.

 ii. Justice is the state of affairs in which the sanctity of life, both in its quality and its continuation, is recognized in the intentions of all people and institutions and is manifested effectively through their actions and policies.

 iii. It is not necessarily possible to live without harming others, but it is possible to base our ethics upon a logic which itself seeks no harm and tolerates no harm commited by others.

b. Non-violence secures justice through the practice of non-violence.

 i. Justice is not a default state of affairs; it must besecured through our actions.

 ii. The first component of the non-violence struggle to secure justice is the establishment of justice in our own lives as the foundation of justice in the world.
  1. The justice in our lives is prefigurative of the justice weseek to create in the world, just as the acorn is prefigurative of an oaktree.

  2. The means are not only in conformity with the ends; they are themselves the end goal and thus provide a solid foundation for establishing this end in the world.

 iii. The second component of the struggle to secure justice is the constructive program – the positive establishment of the foundations of a non-violent society.

  1. From Gandhi to Martin Luther King Jr. and beyond, adherentsto non-violence have sought to establish constructive programs.

  2. These programs attempt to eliminate the root causes of violence and thereby create a new society in which the sanctity of life is recognized and respected by all.

 iv. The third component of the struggle to secure justice is the active resistance program – the defensive struggle to resist and resolve the presence of violence in the world.

  1. A violent opponent establishes power over you because they feel disempowered. If your opponent feels that they are surrendering their power to  you, then they will choose violence over cooperation. Demonstrate that non-violence is a win-win solution in which power is shared. If they still are violent, you must rely on your “power within” to resist their violence actively and without compromise.

  2. Through your resistance, make it impossible for the old order to function as usual. Create disruption and absorb the pain of that disruption until the disruption becomes so great that returning to the old order is nolonger possible and your opponents are empowered to make a positive non-violent choice.

  3. Unite your allies and divide your opponents.

  4. Demonstrate the dignity of the resisters, both to build their own self-esteem and to undermine the opponent’s dehumanization of the resisters.




3. How does the violence of a “just war” fail to define and secure justice?

a. Just war theory fails to offer a satisfactory definition of justice.

 i. The characteristics of a just war are commonly held to be: having just cause, being declared by a proper authority, possessing right intention, having a reasonable chance of success, and the end being proportional to the means used.

 ii. There is no just cause for mass murder.

 iii. Therefore, there is no proper authority to sanctionsuch murder.

 iv. Just intention does not justify injust action. Also,there is no just intention that can result in mass murder, because clearlythe intention was not the total valuation of all life.

 v. There is no reasonable chance of securing justice through war. Even if the advocates of “war for peace” are the victors, in the very act of war they have (1) killed and otherwise harmed countless people, and (2) established war, not peace, as the pratical arbiter of disputes.

 vi. The means of war always exceed and defeat the end ofpeace, in that they are both unnecessary toward the end of peace and in factcounterproductive to the long-term achievement of that end.

b. Just war theory does not secure justice.

 i. War by its very nature is both intrinsically injust and consequentially leads to greater injustice.

 ii. A “just war,” even when victorious, does not in factcreate justice. It simply creates a victory for the person with the mostguns, who may then do what they choose; when non-violence is victorious,the very logic of the non-violent struggle leaves no opportunity for a dominatinby the victors because everyone is a victor.

 iii. Justice does not seek to win war; it seeks to end war!




4. How does non-violence approach the “War on Terrorism?”

a. The first task of the U.S. in the struggle against terrorism is to stop engaging in terrorism ourselves.

 i. Stop direct terrorist training and action.

  1. Close the School of the Americas, now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.

  2. Stop the Central Intelligence Agency from engaging in or supporting any further acts of terrorism.

 ii. Stop engaging in the violent foreign policies and actions that create the inhumane living (and dying) conditions that drive people toterrorism.

  1. Stop all military occupation and action in Afghanistan.

  2. End the sanctions in Iraq.

b. The U.S. must also consistently condemn all terrorism, whether perpetuated by an individual or a State, by U.S. “enemies” or “allies.” Remember that when Osama bin Laden used terrorism against the Soviet Union, the CIA gave him support and the U.S. called him a “freedom fighter.”

c. Isolate the Criminals.

d. End the Arms Trade.

e. Promote Alternative Energy and Conservation.