What is Nonviolence?
10 Key Principles of Nonviolence
1. Fight injustice, not people.
The people aren’t the problem — the problem is the problem. Try to approach conflict by solving the problem rather than attacking or blaming others.
2. Seek win-win solutions.
Emphasize building long-term relationships over short-term “victories”. Let go of needing to be “right” all the time and try to get the bigger picture. Conflict makes us feel that in order for me to “win,” you have to lose. That is a delusion. In nonviolence we do not seek to be winners, or rise over others; we seek to learn and to make things better for everyone. The point is not to “win,” but to build relationships. Basic human needs are universal. At the heart of every conflict, a “win-win” solution is possible.
3. Respect everyone, including yourself.
Humiliation — making fun of someone — should never be used as a tool. Everyone deserves respect.
4. Nonviolence will always improve things down the line.
Violence of any kind will always make things worse. Nonviolence always “works,” but not always in the ways we would imagine, whereas violence never works in the long run because it always leads to further violence.
5. The means are as important, if not more so, than the ends.
We do not have control over the final results of our actions. But we do have responsibility for the means we use, including our feelings and the state of our mind.
If we want a positive, constructive result, we need to use positive, constructive means (as opposed to negative, destructive, violent means). Nonviolence will always produce a good result at some point down the road, even though we may not quite see the connection. Violent means never lead to positive, constructive ends.
6.Each of us has a piece of the truth; none of us has the whole truth.
Be prepared to listen to other people’s truths.
7. Persuade, don’t coerce.
In nonviolence, we never want to use force if we can avoid it. Since our efforts are based around trying to make things better for everyone, we use persuasion to help our opponent see the win-win solution.
8. Use discrimination.
Never sacrifice your principles, but be ready to change tactics or compromise on details. Don’t cling to symbols. Be constructive wherever possible and obstructive only when necessary.
9. Realize interconnectedness.
These principles come from, and help to sustain, a belief that all life is an interconnected whole and that any problem can be solved once its real nature is understood. In other words, once we understand our real needs we will find that they are not in competition with anyone else’s. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.”
10. Nonviolence starts with you.
We’ll explore this further in a few lessons, when we look at Person Power. For now, you can start with this lesson’s exercise on the next page.