THINKING REMEDIES

Greater clarity about the ethics of violence is important for democratic politics. So too is the careful consideration of the means that can be used legitimately to reduce or to prevent surplus violence. Every effort to reduce or rid the world of violence must try to prevent the fetish or ‘aestheticisation’ of violence. Attention must instead be paid to the degree of compatibility between the chosen means and the end in sight, and to the possible or probable unintended consequences of a chosen course of action. Nietzsche's wise advice should be heeded: ‘Whoever fights monsters, should see to it that in the process they do not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.’ The democratisation of violence additionally requires greater sensitivity to the repertoire of viable strategies for eliminating violence in the world around us. Their type and number is bewilderingly broad. Towards the non-violent end of the spectrum are all those ‘soft’ means, including civil disobedience, ‘truth and reconciliation’ tribunals, psychotherapy and the due process of law backed by the threat of punishment. Harder means include the police use of pepper spray and rubber bullets, secret surveillance and government-enforced amnesties for handing in weapons.