Why Pacifism Is Morally Indefensible








Pacifism and nonviolence






In war and genocide










Collective self-defence


An image from the television series Deacons for Defense, about a small group of African American men in Jonesboro, Louisiana who became a popular symbol of the growing frustration with Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonviolent strategy and a rallying point for a militant working-class movement in the South







Source: Property Is Theft

(accessed: 21th January 2014)

2 thoughts on “Why Pacifism Is Morally Indefensible

  1. This is all over the place. They start with a highly conceptual statement by Gandhi, then refute this with one from George Jackson of the Black Panthers. He was also the guy who started the Black Guerilla Family splinter group which lead to the famous assassination of Panthers leader Huey Newton, so not a great role model for a united resistance to anything.

    After a little explanation of the terms they dive straight into the context of WWII, a situation in which the entire world was polarised that has been unmatched in history. Both Gandhi and Orwell seem to be talking here specifically in the context of pacifism as a political movement during WWII, not as a general concept.

    “Orwell’s support for the British state as the best way of challenging a force such as fascism can be challenged.” Doesn’t even make sense as a sentence.

    After this point they obviously think they’ve won you over with the outrageous examples from WWII, as the next segment starts with the author’s own statement that “Militant self-defence, both individual and collective, is entirely in line with the anarchist principle of direct action rather than relying on the state or other “authorities” to look after us.” Backed up by an out of context split quote from Rudolph Rocker whose work never dealt with pacifism in particular.

    They then use a large quote from one of their own previous essays as evidence.

    The section on ‘The Deacons’ doesn’t actually have any specific example of violent direct action taken by the group, it merely alludes to ‘self defense’ and names one positive political result the group achieved.

    The conclusion goes back to talking about absolute pacifism versus nonviolent resistance, when neither of these have been mentioned for about two thirds of the essay – since the author concluded that violent resistance was the way forward in light of Gandhi’s, somewhat bizarre, thoughts on the atrocities of WWII

  2. For me the biggest problem with the use of violence is that a mind turned violent isn’t easily switched to peace, and where the violence was once regarded as justified (by some) it is likely to continue to leak into other areas of life unjustified. South African society is a good example of this.

    I understand the points made in this article, but Gandhi was speaking from a very different perspective. Without doubt he would have put himself and his family at the forefront of any violence and would have taken the butcher’s knife willingly… the question is, why? Is this a symptom of craziness or of such a profound understanding that allowed him to advocate and act as he did? Given his status it is likely that it was immense insight and understanding.

    Ultimately, what is the context of your life? If you are a spiritual person believing yourself to be on an endless spiritual journey of soul evolution (as a Hindu like Gandhi would believe) then what is this one life? It is nothing so precious as to destroy a million previous lives of evolution just to protect it for a few more years. But, if you believe this life to be the be all and end all of your existence then maybe you will feel a little more invested in its protection. Ultimately, however, you will be gone, and what will be left of you will be the actions and the affect they had upon those around you. That Gandhi is remembered and revered so much says something about his actions… our job is to understand why and how.

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