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Author: Benjamin Ginsberg
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1616148322
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 224
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Book Description
This provocative thesis calls violence the driving force not just of war, but of politics and even social stability. Though violence is commonly deplored, political scientist Ginsberg argues that in many ways it is indispensable, unavoidable, and valuable. Ginsberg sees violence manifested in society in many ways. "Law-preserving violence" (using Walter Benjamin's phrase) is the chief means by which society preserves social order. Behind the security of a stable society are the blunt instruments of the police, prisons, and the power of the bureaucratic state to coerce and manipulate. Ginsberg also discusses violence as a tool of social change, whether used in outright revolution or as a means of reform in public protests or the threat of insurrection. He notes that even groups committed to nonviolent tactics rely on the violent reactions of their opponents to achieve their ends. And to avoid the threat of unrest, modern states resort to social welfare systems (a prudent use of the carrot instead of the stick). Emphasizing the unavoidability of violence to create major change, Ginsberg points out that few today would trade our current situation for the alternative had our forefathers not resorted to the violence of the American Revolution and the Civil War.
Author: Benjamin Ginsberg
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1616148322
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Get Book
Book Description
This provocative thesis calls violence the driving force not just of war, but of politics and even social stability. Though violence is commonly deplored, political scientist Ginsberg argues that in many ways it is indispensable, unavoidable, and valuable. Ginsberg sees violence manifested in society in many ways. "Law-preserving violence" (using Walter Benjamin's phrase) is the chief means by which society preserves social order. Behind the security of a stable society are the blunt instruments of the police, prisons, and the power of the bureaucratic state to coerce and manipulate. Ginsberg also discusses violence as a tool of social change, whether used in outright revolution or as a means of reform in public protests or the threat of insurrection. He notes that even groups committed to nonviolent tactics rely on the violent reactions of their opponents to achieve their ends. And to avoid the threat of unrest, modern states resort to social welfare systems (a prudent use of the carrot instead of the stick). Emphasizing the unavoidability of violence to create major change, Ginsberg points out that few today would trade our current situation for the alternative had our forefathers not resorted to the violence of the American Revolution and the Civil War.
Author: Ian Morris
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691175896
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 394
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Book Description
The best-selling author of Why the West Rules—for Now examines the evolution and future of human values Most people in the world today think democracy and gender equality are good, and that violence and wealth inequality are bad. But most people who lived during the 10,000 years before the nineteenth century thought just the opposite. Drawing on archaeology, anthropology, biology, and history, Ian Morris explains why. Fundamental long-term changes in values, Morris argues, are driven by the most basic force of all: energy. Humans have found three main ways to get the energy they need—from foraging, farming, and fossil fuels. Each energy source sets strict limits on what kinds of societies can succeed, and each kind of society rewards specific values. But if our fossil-fuel world favors democratic, open societies, the ongoing revolution in energy capture means that our most cherished values are very likely to turn out not to be useful any more. Foragers, Farmers, and Fossil Fuels offers a compelling new argument about the evolution of human values, one that has far-reaching implications for how we understand the past—and for what might happen next. Originating as the Tanner Lectures delivered at Princeton University, the book includes challenging responses by classicist Richard Seaford, historian of China Jonathan Spence, philosopher Christine Korsgaard, and novelist Margaret Atwood.
Author: Ibrahim A. Karawan
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402086601
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 294
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Book Description
Most books on terrorism deal with descriptions of terrorist organizations and activities, some examine privacy and civil liberties issues, and others treat terrorism as a series of policy choices. Hardly any books deal with the foundational questions of values and violence as they relate to terrorism. The two unique features of this book are that it deals with violence at the normative foundations of values and human dignity and that it includes many of the best-known authors in the world from a variety of disciplines, making it a paradigmatic example of cutting-edge study in interdisciplinary scholarship, with a focus on bringing theories and policy issues closer together. "Values and Violence" includes chapters by a dozen of the leading scholars in the world on patterns of political violence, responses to terrorism, and the basic value choices inherent in them.
Author: United States Catholic Conference
Publisher: USCCB Publishing
ISBN: 9781555860288
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 34
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Book Description
Addresses the need for a moral revolution and a renewed ethic of justice, responsibility, and community. Recognizes impressive examples in dioceses, parishes, and schools across the country.
Author: Alan Page Fiske
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107088208
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 385
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Book Description
This radical and thought-provoking book argues that violence does not result from a breakdown of morality, but is morally motivated.
Author: Gary J. Acquaviva
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 900449474X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 225
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Book Description
This book identifies the character of human predators who violate others or themselves. The contagion of violence infects values that affect behavior. But we may call upon the intrinsic values of love, compassion, and creativity to oppose such violence. The book boldly argues for a renewal of the spiritual energy that gave rise to civilization.
Author: Lloyd Steffen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108848826
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 147
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Book Description
How Christian people have framed the meaning of violence within their faith tradition has been a complex process subject to all manner of historical, cultural, political, ethnic and theological contingencies. As a tradition encompassing widely divergent beliefs and perspectives, Christianity has, over two millennia, adapted to changing cultural and historical circumstances. To grasp the complexity of this tradition and its involvement with violence requires attention to specific elements explored in this Element: the scriptural and institutional sources for violence; the faith commitments and practices that join communities and sanction both resistance to and authorization for violence; and select historical developments that altered the power wielded by Christianity in society, culture and politics. Relevant issues in social psychology and the moral action guides addressing violence affirmed in Christian communities provide a deeper explanation for the motivations that have led to the diverse interpretations of violence avowed in the Christian tradition.
Author: C. A. J. Coady
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521560009
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 332
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Book Description
Political violence in the form of wars, insurgencies, terrorism, and violent rebellion constitutes a major human challenge today as it has so often in the past. It is not only a challenge to life and limb, but also to morality itself. In this book, C. A. J. Coady brings a philosophical and ethical perspective to the subject. He places the problems of war and political violence in the frame of reflective ethics. In clear and accessible language, Coady reexamines a range of urgent problems pertinent to political violence against the background of a contemporary approach to just war thinking.
Author: Anna Pawełczyńska
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Author: Benjamin Ginsberg
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1616149515
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258
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Book Description
Although war is terrible and brutal, history shows that it has been a great driver of human progress. So argues political scientist Benjamin Ginsberg in this incisive, well-researched study of the benefits to civilization derived from armed conflict. Ginsberg makes a convincing case that war selects for and promotes certain features of societies that are generally held to represent progress. These include rationality, technological and economic development, and liberal forms of government. Contrary to common perceptions that war is the height of irrationality, Ginsberg persuasively demonstrates that in fact it is the ultimate test of rationality. He points out that those societies best able to assess threats from enemies rationally and objectively are usually the survivors of warfare. History also clearly reveals the technological benefits that result from war—ranging from the sundial to nuclear power. And in regard to economics, preparation for war often spurs on economic development; by the same token, nations with economic clout in peacetime usually have a huge advantage in times of war. Finally, war and the threat of war have encouraged governments to become more congenial to the needs and wants of their citizens because of the increasing reliance of governments on their citizens’ full cooperation in times of war. However deplorable the realities of war are, the many fascinating examples and astute analysis in this thought-provoking book will make readers reconsider the unmistakable connection between war and progress.
