Gandhi and the Ethic of Active Non-Violence

This paper argues that Gandhi’s active non-violence is an ethic that (a) resists the use of illegitimate violence to solve conflict and (b) seeks to remove the material and moral conditions that engender conflict. It gets its ultimate strength from “soul-force” as Gandhi calls it. Its effectiveness depends on the deep spiritual life of its practitioners, the respect for human rights and social justice. A society can be governed by non-violent means only if the vast majority of its members are already non-violent in their civic behavior. Gandhi does not advocate radical pacifism as he recognizes the right of self-defense, and the legitimacy of the constitutionally limited state. The reduction, not the elimination, of violence is its general policy