Six Principles of Nonviolence
- 1. Respect everyone–including yourself. The more we respect others, the more effectively we can persuade them to change. Never use humiliation as a tool–or accept humiliation from others, as that only degrades everyone. ...
- 2. Always include constructive alternatives. ...
- 3. Be aware of the long term. ...
- 4. Look for win-win solutions. ...
- 5. Use power carefully. ...
- 6. Claim our legacy.
Full Answer
What are the principles of non-violence?
He laid these principles out in his 1958 book Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story, and what follows is a short summary of each. 1. Non-Violence Is Not for the Faint of Heart Practicing non-violence takes strength and resolve. It is not a pathway for those who seek to avoid conflict, as there is nothing passive about it.
Does nonviolence have to take a vacuum?
Nonviolence no longer needs to take place in a vacuum. Always note that if you are using nonviolence with courage, determination and a clear strategy, you will more than likely succeed: win or lose, you will be playing your part in a great transformation of human relationships that our future depends on.
What did Martin Luther King say about nonviolence?
On this topic, King wrote, “Nonviolence does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent but to win friendship and understanding...The nonviolent resister must often express his protest through noncooperation or boycotts, but he realizes that these are not ends themselves; they are merely means to awaken a sense of moral shame in the opponent. ...
What is the aftermath of nonviolence?
The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community, while the aftermath of violence is tragic bitterness." 4. Redemptive Suffering Holds Transformational Power Perhaps the most important principle under the theory of non-violence is the power of undeserved suffering.
What was MLK 6 principles of nonviolence?
King's six principles for nonviolent direct action are: “Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people; nonviolence seeks to win friendships and understanding; nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice or evil, not people; nonviolence holds that unearned, voluntary suffering for a just cause can educate and transform ...
What are the 6 steps of nonviolence?
Six Steps of Nonviolent Social ChangeInformation Gathering. To understand and articulate an issue, problem or injustice facing a person, community, or institution you must do research. ... Education. ... Personal Commitment. ... Negotiation. ... Direct Action. ... Reconciliation.
Who created the six principles of nonviolence?
Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Six Principles of Nonviolence are: Principle one: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
What are some principles of nonviolence?
Principles of NonviolenceNonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. ... Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. ... Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people. ... Nonviolence holds that voluntary suffering can educate and transform. ... Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate.More items...
What is non violence explain?
Definition of Non-Violence "Nonviolent action is a technique by which people who reject passivity and submission, and who see struggle as essential, can wage their conflict without violence. Nonviolent action is not an attempt to avoid or ignore conflict.
What are Gandhi's principles of nonviolence?
Gandhi understood nonviolence from its Sanskrit root "Ahimsa". Ahimsa is just translated to mean nonviolence in English, but it implies more than just avoidance of physical violence. Ahimsa implies total nonviolence, no physical violence, and no passive violence. Gandhi translates Ahimsa as love.
What are examples of nonviolent action making nonviolent principles real?
Methods of nonviolent civic action include acts of peaceful opposition or persuasion (protest marches, letter-writing campaigns), acts or campaigns of noncooperation (boycotts, strikes), and rejection of authority (refusal to accept government actions, disobedience or non-compliance).
What did Martin Luther King say about nonviolence?
“We adopt the means of nonviolence because our end is a community at peace with itself. We will try to persuade with our words, but if our words fail, we will try to persuade with our acts.”
Why did Martin Luther King Jr use nonviolence?
King's notion of nonviolence had six key principles. First, one can resist evil without resorting to violence. Second, nonviolence seeks to win the “friendship and understanding” of the opponent, not to humiliate him (King, Stride, 84). Third, evil itself, not the people committing evil acts, should be opposed.
What were Martin Luther King's principles?
Nonviolence holds that voluntary suffering can educate and transform. Nonviolence willingly accepts the consequences of its acts. Nonviolence accepts suffering without retaliation. Nonviolence accepts violence if necessary, but will never inflict it.
What principles of nonviolent leaders do you relate with the most?
Principles of nonviolenceNonviolence is a way of life.Violence is rejected as a means of control and resolving disputes.There is an active commitment to peace and social justice.The means are consistent with the ends.Power is understood as arising out of relationships.There is a profound respect for humanity.More items...•
What are the characteristics of nonviolent resistance?
1. Nonviolent resistance means neither cowardice nor passivity. Nonviolent resisters are not cowards but strong individuals; it takes strength to resist the use of violence. If, however, resisters are nonviolent because of fear or because they do not have the means of violence, they are not practicing true nonviolence.
What are the 4 basic steps in non violent protest?
“In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action.”
How does MLK define nonviolence?
He described his own “pilgrimage to nonviolence” in his first book, Stride Toward Freedom, and in subsequent books and articles. “True pacifism,” or “nonviolent resistance,” King wrote, is “a courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love” (King, Stride, 80).
What did Martin Luther King say about nonviolence?
“We adopt the means of nonviolence because our end is a community at peace with itself. We will try to persuade with our words, but if our words fail, we will try to persuade with our acts.”
What is nonviolent action?
Nonviolent action is love in action. It is not apathy, passivity, or bowing down to threats of violence. Nonviolence moves to protect, heal, and reconcile. In opposing injustice, nonviolent activists will face repression and violence. Some of us may get injured, others may die. Nonviolence requires the courage and willingness to sacrifice in order to stand up to repression and face violence without retaliating.
What are the forces of harm?
The forces of harm that we oppose are the infinite ways that greed, judgment, and falsehood arise. Rather than defining people who do harm as “bad” or “evil,” we recognize them as suffering. They are trapped by the forces of greed, hatred, and falsehood. Trapped by these forces, they suffer fear, hatred, and confusion. Acknowledging their suffering, we offer them compassion and seek to save them from these forces. Even when people do great harm, we still recognize their inherent worth, value, and potential for goodness and offer them our goodwill and love. They are not our enemies, rather they are family members who have strayed from our nonviolent community.
1. Non-Violence Is Not for the Faint of Heart
Practicing non-violence takes strength and resolve. It is not a pathway for those who seek to avoid conflict, as there is nothing passive about it. Rather this is an active stance, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Those who practice are always looking for ways to persuade their opponents and looking for methods to effect change.
2. Non-Violence Seeks to Defeat Injustice, Not People
Is it not true that those who commit evil are also victims of its power? King knew that the true battle for justice lies between good and evil, darkness and light. He saw those who would oppress him as also being victims of systemic injustice.
3. The Goal of Non-Violence is Reconciliation
A wise man knows that you do not change a person by mocking or humiliating them.
4. Redemptive Suffering Holds Transformational Power
Perhaps the most important principle under the theory of non-violence is the power of undeserved suffering. The nonviolent resister is willing to accept violence if necessary, but not to inflict it, knowing that the suffering they endure has great power to change hearts and minds.
5. Non-Violence Pertains to Physical Acts and Internal Thoughts
The nonviolent resister refuses to physically harm his opponent, but they also refuse to hate them. At the base of a nonviolent philosophy is the principle of love. For King, love (specifically the “ agape ” kind of love discussed by Plato) is proof of the power of God working within us, enabling us to care for those who would seek to harm us.
6. The Universe Is on the Side of Justice
King was an eternal optimist. And to do this work consistently, optimism is an essential outlook. “The believer in nonviolence has deep faith in the future,” King wrote. “He knows that in his struggle for justice he has cosmic companionship.
Six Bonus Principles
To assist his followers in plotting the pathway of non-violence, King also described six steps for best practices in non-violent change.
1. Respect everyone–including yourself
The more we respect others, the more effectively we can persuade them to change. Never use humiliation as a tool–or accept humiliation from others, as that only degrades everyone. Remember, no one can degrade you without your permission.
2. Always include constructive alternatives
Concrete action is always more powerful than mere symbolism, especially when that action creates constructive alternatives: setting up schools, forming cottage industries, establishing farming cooperatives, devising community-friendly banking. As Buckminster Fuller said: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
3. Be aware of the long term
Nonviolent action always has positive results, sometimes more than we intended. When China was passing through a severe famine in the 1950s, the US branch of Fellowship of Reconciliation organized a mail-in campaign to get President Eisenhower to send surplus food to China. Some 35,000 Americans took part.
4. Look for win-win solutions
You are trying to rebuild relationships rather than score “victories.” In a conflict, we can feel that in order for one side to win the other must lose, which is not true. Therefore, we do not seek to be winners or rise over others; we seek to learn and make things better for all.
5. Use power carefully
We are conditioned, especially in the West, to think that power “grows out of the barrel of a gun.” There is indeed a kind of power that comes from threats and brute force–but it is powerless if we refuse to comply with it.
6. Claim our legacy
Nonviolence no longer needs to take place in a vacuum. Always note that if you are using nonviolence with courage, determination and a clear strategy, you will do more than likely succeed: win or lose, you will be playing your part in a great transformation of human relationships that our future depends on.
What is nonviolence?
1. Non-Violence Is Not for the Faint of Heart. Practicing non-violence takes strength and resolve. It is not a pathway for those who seek to avoid conflict, as there is nothing passive about it. Rather this is an active stance, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
What is the aftermath of nonviolence?
The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community, while the aftermath of violence is tragic bitterness.". 4. Redemptive Suffering Holds Transformational Power. Perhaps the most important principle under the theory of non-violence is the power of undeserved suffering.
What is nonviolent resistance?
The nonviolent resister refuses to physically harm his opponent, but they also refuse to hate them. At the base of a nonviolent philosophy is the principle of love. For King, love (specifically the “ agape ” kind of love discussed by Plato) is proof of the power of God working within us, enabling us to care for those who would seek to harm us. Nonviolent love is in a way a weapon, it disarms your opponent and shields you from becoming them.
What does the wise man mean by "nonviolence does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent but to?
On this topic, King wrote, “Nonviolence does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent but to win friendship and understanding...The nonviolent resister must often express his protest through noncooperation or boycotts, but he realizes that these are not ends themselves; they are merely means to awaken a sense of moral shame in the opponent. ... The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community, while the aftermath of violence is tragic bitterness."
What are Martin Luther King Jr.'s principles?
Martin Luther King Jr.’s 6 Principles of Non-Violence. To effectively fight modern injustices, we should use the techniques of those who have effectively done so before us. Reconciliation has become a major theme in our political discourse, and rightfully so. For those who love our country and its foundations, bringing down the temperature ...
Is it true that those who commit evil are also victims of its power?
Is it not true that those who commit evil are also victims of its power? King knew that the true battle for justice lies between good and evil, darkness and light. He saw those who would oppress him as also being victims of systemic injustice. Seeing one’s enemies in this light helps us to view them sympathetically and focus on the root cause of the problem. King again echoed the Bible when he said that our struggle is ultimately not against particular people but systems - “the principalities and powers.”
The Six Principles of Nonviolence
F rom Hong Kong to Chilé, and from Egypt to Ecuador, protests seem to be erupting across the planet right now. People all around the world are ready for shifts in power and changes in leadership.
1. Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people
It takes a great deal of bravery to hold to nonviolent principles, especially when others around you are not. Being nonviolent doesn’t make you weak or wimpy, it makes you strong.
2. Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding
King pointed out that the end goal of nonviolence should be redemption and reconciliation, and the “creation of the Beloved Community.” King had a vision of a global community where things like poverty, hunger, and homelessness would not be tolerated because human decency would not allow for it.
3. Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people
Dr. King recognized that people who do evil things are also victims themselves. After all: no one is born evil, and doing hateful things is painful and damaging to the soul. It’s a cycle of suffering, and the more we shame and blame, the more we contribute to it.
4. Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform
Here’s a hard one to swallow: Dr. King thought that nonviolence should accept suffering without retaliation. He also wanted us to recognize that “unearned suffering” has transformative powers.
5. Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate
Martin Luther King believed that we should resist violence “of the spirit” as well as of the body. He believed nonviolent love was “spontaneous, unmotivated, unselfish, and creative.”
6. Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice
Dr. King wanted us to have faith in justice, and to believe that we live in a benevolent world.
Non-Violence Is Not For The Faint of Heart
Non-Violence Seeks to Defeat Injustice, Not People
The Goal of Non-Violence Is Reconciliation
Redemptive Suffering Holds Transformational Power
Non-Violence Pertains to Physical Acts and Internal Thoughts
The Universe Is on The Side of Justice
Six Bonus Principles
- To assist his followers in plotting the pathway of non-violence, King also describedsix steps for best practices in non-violent change. 1. Gather information: learn as much as you can about the problems around you and talk to those directly impacted. 2. Educate others: it is your duty to help those around you better understand the problems in socie...