Small grammar of non-violence (no violence in the preface) 1. Basic terminology.
We start from a fundamental observation: it may seem strange, scholars tend not to use the word "pacifism", which appears to be an imprecise concept and trope often a negative connotation (the word is used by opponents of the peace movements). The term "pacifism" and "nonviolence," certainly among the most popular and used (often inappropriately) by the mass media, are not synonymous. As it says Nanni Salio, often "the common language and especially the one used by the media has a dual negative function: some possible hidden meanings, especially alternative and other vehicles, stereotyped, functional to the dominant culture, the idea that you want to show and policy decisions that are to be imposed. [...]» (Salio, The Power of Nonviolence, p.136).
The common language, therefore, also with regard to the theme of peace needs analysis clarifying to avoid confusion and exploitation, for more on the agenda.
We can try to define some terms more often:
The anti-militarism is' ideology and opposition to the domination of the military on society "(Muller, Dictionary of nonviolence, p.22).
Pacifism can be defined as "the intransigent refusal, moral, violence even in the absence of radical alternatives, and also for the defense of others, sometimes coinciding with the total liability (absolutist pacifism) (Cozzo, p.28). As Muller notes, "the pacifist discourse is disqualified when it leaves believe that armaments that are the causes of war, presenting their removal as a necessary and sufficient condition for peace. To promote a policy of disarmament, it is important to think about instead of the "functional equivalent of war" to nations that offer the means to defend itself against any aggression.
Because perceived negatively by the public, the word "pacifism" is spent in the dominant discourses used to describe the peace movements that are opposed to various aspects of military policy of the States [...]. At the same time one of the safest means to discredit a movement and to disqualify naming. In fact, in most cases this name, who wants to be an accusation, is given to movements that develop analysis and choose targets that differ radically from those of "pacifism" (Muller, Dictionary of nonviolence, p.94).
Nevertheless, especially in the first half of the twentieth century, the authors now designate as non-violent use of the word did also call themselves.
The term nonviolence is the literal translation of the Sanskrit term ahimsa, Himsa and consists of a deprivation, damage, violence. The word ahimsa means an intentional gradient that could be rendered as "lack of desire to harm, to kill." Other proposals, such innocence, however, seem to lose something of their original meaning. It was always Capitini to propose to write the word without the hyphen separator, so as to emphasize non-violence is not violence but a simple denial of self and positive value. (We, too, when we quote, always write "nonviolence"). Gandhi instead to stress this negative element, "In fact, the very expression" non-violence ", a word negative, it indicates an effort to eliminate the violence that is inevitable in life." (Gandhi, Theory and practice of non- nonviolence, p.77).
The term resistance passive was used by Gandhi himself until he realized that the expression was in danger of pacifism to suggest a person of religious, nothing in the face of injustice. Gandhi also wanted an Indian word for a form of struggle in India.
Satyagraha is the new word is formed from words in the native language of Gandhi (the gujurati). It literally means power of truth (Satya: Truth, graha: force). Gandhi adopted the term to distinguish the "nonviolence of the strong" from passive resistance, which may coincide with the "nonviolence of the weak." The term movement
Issues for peace means various social forces, intellectuals and professionals who work for peace, the theoretical and practical. "The peace movement has always been a" strange "movement, composite, heterogeneous, with internal components that come from different cultural traditions and often conflicting, opinions differ with and without, in Italy more than elsewhere, a recognized leadership authority. [...] It would be more correct to speak of the peace movement in the plural instead of singular, since in reality the movement for peace in the singular is "a movement that does not exist". " On the other hand "the first confusion is to use as synonyms The term peace movement and peace movement. It may seem a subtle distinction, almost useless, but it is not. Throughout the literature is used to distinguish a generic anti-war movement, that brings together some historical moments in large sectors of public opinion, some well-defined political and religious forces, the peace movement meant as an organized and permanent with its well-defined program of political action vindicated over time, not only contingent and generally opposed to the wars, but constructive, based on extensive theoretical and cultural "(Salio, The Power of Nonviolence, p 52, p .136).
Finally, with the technical term of peace research is a set of doctrines, academic and non academic studying the problem of peace in the prospect of a renewed (more comprehensive, holistic) paradigm of the humanities. Its initiator is the great theorist Johan Galtung. The importance of peace research is to provide rigorous concepts for a theory of peace and nonviolence, ripping DefInt the confusion of common sense, a very vital issue.
The guiding concept of this book is that of nonviolence. Regarding the definition of non-violence and the distinction between the types of non-violence must be examined a bit 'closer at least thought Gandhi, whose writings are to be pointed as the origin theory of modern nonviolence.
2. ABC of nonviolence.
begin with the words, Nanni Salio, one of the most important Italian scholars of peace research: "The idea of \u200b\u200bnon-violence is not new, but" as old as the hills, "as Gandhi taught, although his own merit it moved with full dignity in the same field of politics.
Nonviolence is opposed to all forms of violence, both direct and structural [ie, inherent injustice of the economic and social system], without justifying the action to one for delete the other: break the vicious cycle of violence by refusing to make use of a priori. And to clarify this choice nonviolence goes even further, rejecting the violence that occurs at the cultural level, hidden in the folds of our religious, moral, social (Salio, Gulf Wars, p.21).
Gandhian nonviolence is twofold: ahimsa and satyagraha, abstention from violence and violence against others. A possible
concise definition is: conflict theory seeks to identify the means of struggle that can lead to greater reduction of violence in all its forms (Cozzo, p.23). This definition has the merit to clear the field dall'equivoco that nonviolence is inaction or, worse, renounce violence against direct and structural (ie, "filed" in the social structures). Nonviolence is not a simple negation of violence and conflict but, as suggested by Capitini spelling without the hyphen, can be thought of as a positive concept and constructive.
Simone Weil's insight that the violence, objectifies, dehumanizes, and that is what anyone who becomes fulfilled, can provide an adequate philosophical background. Nonviolence is the rejection of dehumanization, which necessarily arises from the violence even if it were implemented her claims for the "right", as in the case of self-violence.
nonoviolenza The choice is based on the ethics of suffering violence in a conflict rather than inflict it, believing that the enemy can be converted by the example of non-violent. While the violence inflicted to avoid suffering, but the nonviolent suffering and not to inflict any harm in an attempt to "transform" the violent opponent, believing that by doing so the opponent can be improved morally and eventually abandon its position violent . The alternative
violence / nonviolence corresponds to that between the short range consistent of a certain quality of existence and purpose of the simple preservation of his physical integrity, freedom and life, rather than doing violence even degrade autodifensiva the nonoviolento choose to keep a different (better) quality of confiding in his exemplary moral and universal "contagious".
Violence is not canceled by non-violent but in a sense "changes direction" means "soldier" nonviolence is exposed, he puts himself as a possible beraglio of violence: "The conflict is accepted in its entirety, without any fear or liabilities, but in a form that energy is not is used to destroy the enemy but to persuade him, and therefore preferring to cause suffering to themselves rather than him, but not to psychologically blackmail victim with an attitude but sincere desire not to make anyone "(ibid., p.75) .
Nonviolence is therefore aimed at reaching a settlement of conflicts without resorting to violent means. Dire nonviolence is to say the struggle for peace and justice (peace nonviolent). You see then how the practice of nonviolence requires dedication and courage as, if not more military heroism.
is often argued that violence is intrinsic to human nature. But, he argued already Gandhi, "the fact that there are still many people alive in the world shows that this is not based on force of arms but on the strength of truth and love. So the largest and most conclusive proof of the success of this force must be seen in the fact that despite all the wars that took place in the world, it continues to exist "(Theory and practice of non-violence, p.65).
In the thought of Gandhi, violence is not something "natural" that we can and must oppose with a cultural strategy, "Non-violence is the law of our species as violence is the law of the brutes. The spirit of the beast is asleep, and he knows no other law that physical force. The dignity of man requires obedience to a higher law, the power of the spirit "(ibid., p.20).
2.2 Forms of nonviolence.
distinguished Gandhi nonviolence of the strong, or satyagraha, or non-violence as a conviction, the nonviolence of the weak, or duragraha, or passive resistance.
A definition of satyagraha is as follows: "the method of safeguarding the rights through personal suffering" (Gandhi, as old as the mountains, 1993, Knopf).
The satyagraha is active struggle against violence and, therefore, not merely a failure to violence and is not due to tactics or strategy. Nonviolence satyagraha is not complete elimination of violence for Gandhi because violence is never entirely eliminated by the existence of "Strictly speaking, no activity and no occupation is possible without a degree, albeit limited, of violence. The same life is impossible without some degree of violence. What we must do is to limit this violence as much as possible "(Gandhi, Theory and practice of non-violence, p.77).
passive resistance, however, may represent the initial phase of violent conflict, during which you do not feel enough strong enough to take up arms. Under the guidance of a leader and a group leader who profess non-violence as a conviction, even passive resistance can develop in the direction of satyagraha. What
obviously different from the nonviolence of the weak is the failure to act of cowardice, which Gandhi is preferable to the use of arms: "Although violence is not lawful, when used in self-defense or protection of the vulnerable it is an act courage, far better than cowardly submission "(ibid, p.22).
You can then distinguish between positive and non-violence nonviolence negative: the first is "to make it easier to make our party the nonviolent actions that the group endorses "and the second is to" make it harder to do things which he opposes a nonviolent group "(Galtung, Gandhi today, p.152).
Since the non-violent approach involves several dimensions of the human, social and political life as a private and emotional, the ethical implications of non-violence are considerable, and perhaps primary. Here is another possible definition of non-violence, given by Aldo Capitini: choice of a way of thinking and acting that is not oppression or destruction of any living being, especially human beings.
2.3 ethics of nonviolence.
fundamental characteristic of non-violence is the reconsideration of the means-ends relationships. Ethics policy (Western) modern Machiavellian prevailing principle that the end may justify the means. For non-violence, on the contrary, we have the principle of homogeneity of means and ends: a good end must be achieved through means good, because "impure means producing an end impure" (Gandhi, Theory and practice of nonviolence, p.126) .
The categorical imperative of non-violence is not the negative, "abstain from violence," but the even more challenging "Act so that your action can lead to greater reduction of violence in the long term and in all its forms "(Pontara, Welcome. in theory and practice of non-violence, p.XXXII-XXXIII). And according to this Pontara imperative "is part of a system of rules each of which is provided with equal validity and that, when coming into conflict with one or more of the others, can be overwhelmed by that or those. Yes you can give situations where the use of violence, although forbidden by the imperative mentioned, however, will be sanctioned as legitimate as requested by one or more rules to an extent greater than is allowed by the imperative of non-violence "(ibid.). This explains why Gandhi himself, unlike Tolstoy's religious and pacifist, believed it was better to give than to commit violence to confront violence by mere cowardice, "Killing can be a duty. [...] We destroy the lives of all that we deem necessary to the sustenance of our body. [...] For the sake of others then, in the interest of humanity, we kill wild animals. When the lions or tigers threaten their villages, the residents consider it their duty to kill them or kill them.
In some cases you may need to pay even human blood. Suppose a man is taken from a killing spree and starts to turn with a sword in his hand killing anyone who gets in front, and nobody has the courage to capture him alive. Whoever kills the fool will get the gratitude of the community and will be considered a charitable man.
From the point of view of ahimsa is clearly the duty of every kill such a man. " (Gandhi, Theory and practice of non-violence, p.69-70)
Nonviolence does not even have to equate all forms of life: "My non-violence is not simply a form of goodness to all living creatures. [...]» (Ibid., p.75).
Gandhi has often responded to those who posed questions about practical support for non-violence that violence in some cases it is essential, but not between cowardice and violence must certainly choose the latter: "When my eldest son asked me what I should have done this if it was in 1908 when I was attacked and nearly killed, if he should escape or would use his physical strength, as it could and wanted, and defend myself, I replied that it was his right to defend even by resorting to violence "(ibid., p.18).
In particular, it is immoral violence left at the mercy of those in need of defense: "They looted the homes of some villagers. They fled, leaving their wives, children and relatives to the mercy of looters. When I reproached them for cowardice that had proved not doing their duty, they boldly appealed to the doctrine of nonviolence. I publicly denounced their conduct and I said that my non-violence fully justified the violence used by those who believed in nonviolence and that they were called to defend the honor of their women and their children. Non-violence is not an excuse for the cowardly but it is the supreme virtue of the brave. The practice of non-violence requires more courage the practice of arms. Cowardice is wholly incompatible with the non-violence. "(Ibid., p.23).
2.4 Techniques of nonviolence.
Gandhi has experienced in decades of struggle because nonviolence requires strong self-control and ability to organize groups and non-violent strategies. Beyond the purely ethical dimension of nonviolence are therefore true techniques of nonviolent conflict management.
The non-cooperation or non-cooperation is "the essential principle of the strategy of nonviolent [...] You must then organize the resistance by inviting each member of the group or community to withdraw support to the leaders of proven injustice, thus depriving them of the competition which require to ensure their dominance "(Muller, Dictionary of nonviolence, p.80), it should be noted that non-cooperation as a first step may be perfectly legal and only later, exhausted all legal means can lead to disobedience civil.
Civil Disobedience (a term coined by HD Thoreau) is the strongest action of non-cooperation. "When the law no longer fulfills its function on the contrary, it is better to defend the interests of the privileged, the rich and powerful against, instead, the interests of the underprivileged, where the law covers and guarantees injustice, not is only a right but a duty to disobey it.
this is clearly not preaching disobedience to the law in a systematic way, it is simply not systematically preach obedience to the law "(Muller, Meaning of nonviolence, p.23).
Fasting or more properly the hunger strike is intended to exert social pressure on the party to put an end to situations of injustice. It is a typical non-violent action based on the example: "The more coercion is reduced, the more we need to give examples that have, for themselves, a persuasive, sometimes out of the ordinary" (Capitini, The techniques of nonviolence, p.54). It should be noted, however, that if it's blackmail, the hunger strike ceases to be nonviolent, "There is blackmail when you leave to understand, more or less explicitly, that those who went on strike [...] they drop the responsibility of their death, if there will be death - and can not be ruled out - the opponent. It is an unacceptable blackmail. The opponent takes upon himself the responsibility for the injustice which leads to a hunger strike, but if I lead a hunger strike, I take my responsibilities to the end and not to fall on others the responsibility of the risks I face "(Muller, cit., p. 18).
The boycott is "a method of non-cooperation in economic terms: the refusal to benefit from another of my purchasing power, which then becomes a power that I really am opposed to that of my opponent" (ibid, p.19 ).
The strike is the best known and most used form of non-cooperation, "understood that the strike was a nonviolent technique when violence does nothing, not even in the difficult case of non-strikers or krumiri, and is not motivated by hatred those from whom off the cooperation. [...] The right to strike is recognized, and it is clear that the company should be able to pay the cost of receiving change in the evolution of the struggle by violent means in nonviolent ways, the rise of classes that are in the lower, the advantage of freedom of expression problems. (Capitini, cit., P.90).
3. Peace movements: typology.
have been proposed various kinds of peace movements.
In The problem of war and the ways of peace, Norberto Bobbio (which from the standpoint of terminology of "pacifism" and identified with the kind of non-violence which is radical species) distinguish different types of active pacifism, in its subdivided according to whether they address the means by which to strive for peace, or institutions, or to men. We have so instrumental pacifism, pacifism and pacifism institutional finalist.
Pacifism is instrumental to Bobbio the form of the movement for peace which is merely to advocate disarmament. This form of pacifism was the limit of neglecting to consider the consequences of disarmament, ignoring the possible positive effect of violence (the theorists of nonviolence effect excluded). Also it would be so ineffective as practicable but no guarantee on the behavior of all stakeholders. In fact, unilateral disarmament, supported by thinkers like Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Simone Weil, can not be dismissed too easily. Especially since Gorbachev and Shevardnadze specifically implemented, and successfully, a policy of "disarmament asymmetrical '(see Salio, The Power of Nonviolence, p.42).
The institutional pacifism, however, can be legal (the war depends on the existence of the state as such: it is necessary to overcome a global superstar) or social (the war depends on a form of state based on the exploitation of class status should be abolished capitalist). The effort to research the causes and remedies of the war here is greater than the instrumental pacifism. Inside
pacifism finalist, so true peace can be achieved by acting upon men and not on institutions, Bobbio then distinguishes a spiritual tendency, in explaining the moral and religious violence, and a materialist, who sees a man being the biological where violence is understood in psychological and sociological.
A different classification of the movements for peace is that which distinguishes between religious pacifism (conscientious objection), liberal internationalism, anti-conscription (the fight for the preservation of civil liberties), the socialist tradition of resistance to war (anti-militarism) , socialist internationalism, feminist anti-militarism, pacifism, radical (Gandhian non-violence), and also before the collapse of the Soviet bloc were also highly relevant pacifism and Soviet nuclear pacifism.
further classification could occur separately peace movements who struggle against all war, or against a particular war (eg the Gulf) or against a particular aspect of war (nuclear weapons).
A special version of the peace movement is a nonviolent movement environmentalist. The premise of this form of attention to human-nature is that violence is violence even to the environment to humans, since they are closely tied to conservation ecosystem in which peoples and cultures have developed and live.
4. Ideas of peace.
On the very idea of \u200b\u200bpeace there are three main concepts, developed in the course of human history and culture.
The negative peace is understood as the mere absence of war "is revealed soon enough. The negative peace is realized in fact as armed peace, as a truce between war and the other .[...] The idea of \u200b\u200bnegative peace condemns the violence directed, meaning the violence which is exercised directly on natural [.. .] but justifies the war as a means of defense against attacks and is silent on any other type of violence, structural, less obvious but no less serious. On a person can use force [...] indirectly, by omission, by depriving it of the need to survive [...]» (Salio, the Gulf Wars, p.16). This idea of \u200b\u200bpeace "absolutizes the value of freedom and material well-being, and therefore the first-generation human rights" (ibid., p.18).
Proponents of so-called positive peace, however, deemed insufficient a peace that is not accompanied by social justice, given that injustice provokes violence. The idea of \u200b\u200bpositive peace highlights the value of justice and balance ecological (in the absence of a balanced relationship with the planet's resources can not be peace, upholding a tradition of nonviolent thought). This idea of \u200b\u200bpeace be considered as eligible war as an instrument of liberation and shines a spotlight on a "second generation" of human rights linked to the idea of \u200b\u200bjustice.
The idea of \u200b\u200bnonviolent peace finally wants to put together both the values \u200b\u200bthat emerge in the two previous ideas of peace, "while peace absolutizes negative freedom and positive peace justice, nonviolence makes it clear that a society built on a only value is in fact a non-desirable, in which the same value will be the first or then walked on. In other words there is no true freedom without justice and there is no true justice without freedom "(ibid., p.16). And liberty and justice, as good ends can not be pursued by unfair means, or violent.
What is the idea of \u200b\u200bpeace prevailing at the present time? The paradigm of the 'pre-emptive attack "appears to be behind the idea of \u200b\u200bnegative peace (the need to enforce the peace with weapons), but with arguments borrowed from the idea of \u200b\u200bpositive peace, in an attempt to justify the war and violence with the intention of bringing all oppressed peoples freedom and justice, which instead reduce their as a result of the war.
5. The future is nonviolent?
After the 11 September attack, which led the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, might have seemed that the strategy of nonviolence was a long time to defeat. But since the impasse that led the war is increasingly under the eyes of world public opinion, even the chattering "interventionist" now appear more calm, and you start talking to retreat even from America. Here, then, that the situation returns to be favorable because the proposals of the movement for peace are felt. Without
nonviolent mediation there is no future planetary imaginable, unless you want to conceive and the possibility of human existence increasingly militarized worldwide. One witnesses in this case for further development (or devolution) of the types of companies classified by the French philosopher Michel Foucault: after the disciplinary society of the Ancien Régime, after the current control society (ideological, mass media, police ) we arrive at the processing (of a substantial portion) of the company in military society. This is what the theorist Johan Galtung's peace (in AA.VV. Movements for peace, I) intellectual style called "brown", the police and militaristic mode of life and thought could emerge in the future if it becomes established in the style green, libertarian and environmentalist (other "styles" are: Blue Liberal, socialist-red).
The nightmare of a militarized society, which destroy natural and economic resources, it is perhaps impossible for the same, relative economic weakness and ideological neoconservatives around the world (the same Galtung, drawing obviously empty criticism of "anti-Americanism" involves the collapse of the U.S. by 2020).
But we must be clear to avoid self-delusion: the movement for peace, understanding by this term the permanent collection of organizations that are working for decades to build a nonviolent peace throughout the world, has not the power to cause significant acceleration of history. The same adherence of the masses to the ideal of peace has its own historical dynamics detected by a chart (see chart Salio). Yet women and men around the world are committed to the peace by working methodically to ensure that the transformation of our society go to the Green and not to the Bruno.
nonviolent peace prevails not automatically, not the result of the magnificent and progressive, or the inevitable result of historical progress, linear or dialectical or revolutionary events of individual, "momentous". In contrast to what it considered passive pacifism (Bobbio) typical nineteenth-positivist optimism that the scientific and technical progress have led to the extinction of the wars, no invisible hand guiding humanity on the path of dialogue and cooperation, non-violent.
The construction of a nonviolent future peace, "peace by peaceful means" (Galtung) can not be but the result of fruitful interaction between the organized action of elites specializing in peace research and the willingness and commitment all those who can join the movement for peace.
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(From without violence. Ideas and stories of peace movements , edited by Edward Acotto, "Days of History" 38, The Unit, 2004)