Violence, Nonviolence, and Moral Worth

Book excerpt: Given the ubiquity of violence in our world, the ever present call to renounce violence has the understandable tendency to ring hollow to many of us. There is no shortage of evidence showing that we really don’t oppose violence as much as we claim to. By conceptually analyzing the terms “violence” and “nonviolence,” as well as by offering palpable readings of Gandhi’s thought and discussing how we can better identify with others, Violence, Nonviolence, and Moral Worth offers insight into how we can begin reducing the gap between our professed reverence for nonviolence and our everyday practices. Sanjay Lal argues that neither our inability to perfectly uphold nonviolent practice nor the reality that moral worth is often exhibited through acts of violence should be an obstacle to affirming the value of a more comprehensive ethic of nonviolence. Peace theorists, activists, and anyone interested in a less violence-filled existence will find much to take away from this work.