Nonviolence FAQ:

What is nonviolence? A beneficial force that can be used to defuse conflict and otherwise influence human actions for the better. Gandhi called it a "living force" to distinguish it from a physical force like gravity that acts only on bodies but stress that it is a scientific phenomenon, capable of prediction and control when it is understood. If violence is the failure to recognize our interconnectedness, or the unity of life, nonviolence is the awakening and empowering of that recognition.

Is there any scientific evidence for it? A great deal. Scientists using non-invasive techniques like Magnetic Resonance Imaging have even been able to show of late that selfless acts (the basis of all nonviolent action) are health-giving to the individual and have even physiological effects on those around us.

What about history? Same thing. As Gandhi pointed out a century ago, what we call "history" studies only the breakdowns of the natural process of ahimsa or nonviolence. When you know where to look, real history is rife with examples of individuals, groups, and even nations using some degree of nonviolence with good effects.

Does nonviolence always work? No - unless you mean does it always have good results. As political scientist Hannah Arendt pointed out, "the practice of violence, like all action in the world, changes the world; but the most probable change is to a more violent world." The practice of nonviolence does just the reverse: it may not "work" in the sense that it gets you just what you want (as violence also does not), but it always does progressive work (which violence never does).

Is nonviolence dangerous? Sometimes. It can be as dangerous as violence. The difference is that risks run and suffering endured in the context of nonviolent action produce positive results while those run and endured in acts of violence make relationships and situations worse. People have died offering nonviolence, but it can safely be said that they have not died in vain.

Who can offer nonviolence? Anyone. To be nonviolent is a human capacity, just as anger and fear are human endowments by nature. Nonviolence is, in fact, the creative management of those potentially disruptive tendencies. At the same time, it has also been mobilized by whole societies.

Aren't we repressing our anger? It is neither expression nor repression; in the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. their movement neither expressed nor repressed anger but "harnessed anger and released it under discipline for maximum results."

Couldn't someone use nonviolence for a bad cause? Not really. They can use the tactics that are also used by nonviolence - for example, some years ago thousands of Californians refused to register their assault rifles and some claimed this was "civil disobedience" - but for a nonviolent actor means and ends are fused, neither is ignored and they cannot be incompatible.

Am I allowed to defend myself? You're "allowed" to do anything you want. Nonviolence is not a moral thing, but a kind of power. A nonviolent person will be more concerned about defending his or her dignity - and that of his or her opponent - than just his or her physical well-being, and depending on his or her degree of preparation and confidence may completely renounce physical defense, partly for that reason.

Is nonviolence a religion? Not exactly. A person who believes in and acts upon principled nonviolence will tend to believe that the world makes a kind of moral sense (such that, for example, work done with a desire to help others will have a good effect somewhere down the line) and that no individual is completely beyond reach of persuasive efforts (though their effects may not be immediately visible).

Are there different kinds of nonviolence? Yes, in the sense that the term is sometimes used to mean nothing more than the absence of physical force, which can be provisional. This is sometimes called strategic nonviolence and sometimes spelled non-violence. While this, too, can be effective, what we are mainly talking about here is usually called principled nonviolence, offered by those who deeply feel that it is the right thing to do, in principle. The latter, despite what the term 'strategic' may convey, has more long lasting and deeper effects.

How can I get involved? You've come to the right place! Throughout this site you will find resources for learning more about the rich potentialities of nonviolence and seeing ways to engage your own interests and talents in "the search for a nonviolent future." Let us know what we're missing!

Questions from Skeptics

"When you are facing brutal dictators, there is no win-win. You simply have to fight and use 'us versus them' tactics.'"

Nonviolence (satyagraha) is total noncompliance with injustice; that is, in order to stop an injustice, one must refuse to comply with not only the injustice itself, but also with the methods, rules, and logic that allowed the injustice to occur, namely, the rules of violence, coercion and domination. To adopt violent methods against one's opponent, even if they are "soft" methods of violence such as name calling, ridicule, or intimidation, is to reinforce the paradigm of domination that allows individuals and groups to exploit one another; the roles may shift and those who were oppressed today may later find themselves in a position to exact unfair advantage, as individuals if not as a group, unless the underlying logic of oppression is itself challenged.

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