Constructive Program
Principle 1. Constructive Program is the scaffolding upon which the structure of a new society will be built while struggling against the old.
Principle 2. By empowering the positive force of nonviolence, constructive work balances the “noncooperation with evil” with “cooperation with good”, creating an unstoppable force.
Principle 3. By providing the people with basic needs through their own work, the lie of dependency is proven wrong and the chains of oppression shattered.
Question: Summarize in your own words what Dr. Nagler explained in this talk.
Question: Dr. Nagler suggests that nonviolence is not the negation of reality but affirms it; how does constructive program relate to this? Explain in your own words.
Question: Explain how dependency leads to violence.
Principle 4. It unifies diversity by creating work in which everyone can participate. Such work is ongoing, proactive, and builds community.
Question: Consider this quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and relate it to what Dr. Nagler said:
“I cannot be what I ought to be unless you are what you ought to be, and you cannot be what you ought to be unless I am what I ought to be.”
Principle 5. Constructive program trains people to live a nonviolent life. Just as training for violent revolt means the use of military weapons; training for Satyagraha means constructive program.
Question: Dr. Nagler made extensive claims about the capacity of constructive program to empower the individual almost as a form of spiritual development. Did he back up these claims? If it seems plausible to you, how would you back it up?
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These videos are based on Michael Nagler's book, The Search for a Nonviolent Future.