"On Suffering Sanctions and the Nature of Nonviolent Responses"
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Authors
Sanjay Lal
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Book, Chapter in Scholarly Book-New
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Abstract
It is widely acknowledged that responses commonly classified as nonviolent (e.g. strikes, boycotts, the imposition of economic sanctions) inevitably bring about harm that is largely unintentional. This is, of course, also true of unequivocally violent enterprises like war. Thus, especially from the perspective of ethics, serious complications ensue for attempts to demarcate nonviolent responses from violent ones. In what follows, I will argue that, rather than prompting philosophers of nonviolence to defend something like the doctrine of double effect the above noted problem should instead lead them to reflect more deeply on the distinguishing features of nonviolent action. I maintain that better conceptual clarification of the term “nonviolence” can allow for resolution to problems that arise by unintentional harms brought about by acts classified as nonviolent and that this resolution can be achieved while avoiding the “ethical baggage” entailed by the doctrine of double effect.