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Yes. It is valid in a violent world as long as the people in that world still have some sense of conscience. If we were all a bunch of sociopaths, I think it would be futile.
It depends on the society in question. As another person wrote, peaceful protests can work as long as the target of the protest has a conscience. If the target of the protest does not have a conscience, then for get it. For example, hear in the US, we value the right of people to protest. We may not agree with the message of the protesters, but we respect their right to speak out. Through such protests, policy in this nation has been changed. On the other hand, in China the leaders don't respect this right. So, when tens of thousands of people gathered in Tiananmen Square in 1989 to protest the corruption in the government of China and demand more freedom, the government eventually sent in the military to put down the protesters and initiated a massacre that may have taken thousands of lives. (The Chinese government won't officially admit to just how many actually died in the crack down.) So, it really does depend on which group you are talking about when it comes to the effectiveness of peaceful protests. Some groups will be swayed by such things. Others would probably shoot you rather than admit that you might actually have a point.
The reason Gandhi's method worked is the same reason Martin Luther King Jr.'s method worked: if one stands on understanding that all humanity is interconnected, speaking and acting from that clarity, it awakens this innate knowledge in others.
Even though we're prone to selfishness, fear, and warlike behavior, people of courage can still stand up and speak to the higher self within others -- and while it's not guaranteed to reach every individual, it will often reach enough to make a difference.
This is how one person who sees clearly can be useful.
The society in which we live different than in the 1940's but ideals do not change.Peaceful resistance worked then and works today.Mankind itself has not changed and our idea of peaceful civil disobedience has not changed.Civil disobedience happened in South America and people got thier water rights back.The only thing that has changed is we have bigger bombs.
The best way.
Gandhi's general philosophy revolved heavily around the Bhagavad Gita. Read it and you'll come to your own answers I think.
Is it valid? Sure why not. Opinion questions are the best kind. No right answer really.
...unless you contradict your self...so No...but yes :-p
well it worked for him, didn't it? India was released from British control. Looks pretty valid to me.
Only in some circumstances. Ghandi himself said that his methods would only have worked against the British. When he defeated the British using their own, unfair, rulebook, they conceded defeat. When Mandela tried the same thing in South Africa, they just change the rules, retroactively, to stop him winning.
Yes, it's very valid. Peaceful resistance had an awesome psychological effect upon the British. They began to feel like barbarians and were forced to reconsider their whole perception of what it meant to be civilized. Just because the results aren't quick and clear, it doesn't mean they are not powerful. Ghandi understood a profound spiritual truth, that was more powerful than any weapon. Although this is not a direct quote, "If they want to hurt us we will bleed, and if they want to kill us we will die, until they realise we will never give up and never stoop to their level.", it was kind of the spirit of his way of thinking, because he realised death was not the end, and the power of love was the ultimate force in the universe.
The intention of this reality is not peace, but division and competition.
I asked this question many years ago. The wise man whom I asked said, Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent fasting protests were potentially extremely violent. He was a major religious icon in India. His welfare was so important to the Hindu population that if he should die while fasting to protest British occupation, it would have ignited national violence with many thousands of deaths. Doesn't sound truly peaceful does it?
I think it is valid. It doesn't mean that it will always work though. Ghandi influenced MArtin Luther King Jr, and he understood that "you cannot stop violence with violence"--it only breeds more violence.
i believe that it is valid...the violence that was prevalent during his time was nothing less of what is there today.
the only difiiculty in the process is the long duration that is involved in bringing out the change
No, Ghandi was a good man but his concepts aren't flexable to the changing times. No one pays much attention to protestors unless they wave semi automatic weapons in the air.
can anybody answer this?
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From a Philosophical point of view, did Benedict Spinoza's work and thoughts deny the possibility of our mind being limited and imperfect?
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Have you found self, who you are? At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want( lao Tzu)
by shunyata on October 31st, 2010
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You're reading Is Ghandi's concept of peaceful resistance as a means of change valid in a violent, war-like world?
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So you think it is valid as long as there are people of conscience willing to protect those who would not protect themselves. I've thought that world opinion was Ghandi's only effective weapon.
by Mirage V2.0 AWOL on November 19th, 2006
you have posed a very interesting question. I was just speculating. I think that the main reason why peaceful resistance worked was because people eventually felt guilty for harming those who would not fight back.
by Anonymous on November 19th, 2006
Well, they were Brits, so maybe you are right. But if the world was not watching would they have done the same? BTW- Can you think of one other national crisis where "I will fight no more forever." worked as in India?
by Mirage V2.0 AWOL on November 20th, 2006
ErikaJ: I appreciate your speculation. It furthers the dialogue. The situation in India worked because the Brits did have a conscience, could no longer maintain all their colonies, and realized that the benefits of remaining in India as a patron outweighed the costs of being an occupier. Peaceful coexistence worked at that time because the confluence of history made it the most reasonable result.
by Mirage V2.0 AWOL on November 21st, 2006