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Is Violence Necessary?
2003c87_a_0003666_r01.MP3
Collection StructureCommonwealth Club of California records > Sound recordings of club programs > Is Violence Necessary?
Item Title Is Violence Necessary?
Speaker Brown, Robert McAfee (1920-2001)
Date CreatedJune 04, 1976
Description

Reverend Brown speaks about violence in society and around the war. He offers three theses: the need for an Agonized Participation Theory, society needs to understand that violence is more pervasive than it realizes, and those with power that will make the decisions about how change is to come.

On the first, he discusses philosophies about war. According to Brown, the three prevailing theories in the world are: war can never be morally justified, a crusade-esque-end-justifies-the-means justification for war, and the just-war theory. He wants an Agonized Participation Theory that would emphasize the at-last-measure aspect of the just-war theory. He would like to call for pacifism absolutely, but he believes this is not possible in the current war, citing WWII as an example.

On the idea that violence in society is more ubiquitous than Americans are willing to admit, he offers a cycle of violence. He believes there is an increase of injustice, followed by revolt, which triggers further repression, which leads back to injustice and so on. He believes that to break this cycle of violence, one needs to address the increase of injustice.

Brown believes one needs to understand violence in a more universal context. Among other examples he offers are: hunger, repression in now-free-of-military-coups Chile, and harassment of Black Panthers by police as acts of violence. He asks for empathy in understanding that one person's peace is another's violence. He believes things that benefit one are violent acts against others, citing police force and the court system as violence on black people to the benefit of white people.

On his third thesis, he wishes people realize that those with power that will make the decisions about how change is to come. He concludes that society cannot horde wealth and power and not help those in need, because eventually the needy will violently revolt.

Language(s)
Country of Origin
Place RecordedSan Francisco, California, United States
DimensionsDuration: 45 minutes, 24 seconds
FormatSound Recording
Medium speeches (documents)
Hoover IDProgram 19760604; 2003c87_a_0003666
Record Number2003C87.756
RightsUsed with permission of the Commonwealth Club of California.This copy is provided for educational and research purposes only. No publication, further reproduction, or reuse of copies, beyond fair use, may be made without the express written permission of the copyright owner.

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