猫咪社区

From Arab Spring to the Occupy movement, people have been rising up in recent years to fight oppression. But success isn鈥檛 the inevitable outcome of protest, and revolution, even for just causes, can lead to further oppression.

In The Nonviolence Handbook, Michael Nagler provides a clear and accessible guide to what he sees as the only path to sustainable justice: the philosophy and practice of nonviolence.

Nagler prefers the Gandhian term satyagraha, generally used to mean nonviolent struggle, but which literally means 鈥渃linging to truth.鈥� To manifest satyagraha, people must acknowledge the necessity of the well-being of every person. When we exhibit patience and refrain from criticizing others harshly鈥攖hings many people already do鈥攚e鈥檙e building nonviolent potential. The key is to consciously resist violence every day.

But overcoming oppression requires more than resistance. Revolutionaries, Nagler says, must develop constructive programs to 鈥渂uild the infrastructure for a new society before the old society crumbles, preventing the emergence of a power vacuum into which new repressive elements often rush.鈥�

Nagler argues that different stages of conflict require different nonviolent actions. Rather than starting with protest, for example, Occupy should have begun with the sort of creative, constructive actions it took after the encampments, like debt relief and support to hurricane victims.

Even the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests could have gone differently in Nagler鈥檚 view. Had the students, workers, and supporters left the square and returned to their universities and villages to educate others and take concrete steps for change, 鈥渢he democracy movement in China鈥攁nd the brave people who embodied it might still be alive.鈥�

Avoiding disasters like the Tiananmen Square massacre is one of the goals of Nagler鈥檚 work as a teacher of peace and conflict studies and founder of The Metta Center for Nonviolence. His handbook鈥攃onveyed with the conviction achieved through lifelong study and practice鈥攊s of great value for those looking to cultivate a nonviolent soul and make lasting change in the world.

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Yessenia Funes covers environmental justice for Earther. She is a former associate editor at 猫咪社区!

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