Gene Sharp: Nonviolence as a Political Tool

Gene Sharp provides an interesting viewpoint on nonviolence, a practical viewpoint. In his theory, Sharp attempts to quantify nonviolence through a differentiate of 198 different methods of nonviolence. From this he groups them into three distinct categories: nonviolent protests; noncooperation; and nonviolent intervention. These three categories each are distinct in their own ways; but all have one thing in common: they are nonviolent. A rudimentary definition of nonviolence, according to Sharp, is that nonviolent action is any action or inaction that does not incorporate physical force against another individual. This practical viewpoint brings out a characteristic of nonviolence that needs to be expanded on: nonviolence is one political tool to get social change and that nonviolent action has many different faces. I would equate nonviolent action to Congress passing a bill. I think this is one essential aspect of nonviolent action. It is not just that people believe that violence is bad or that violence is ineffective; but that by using nonviolent action they have decided that nonviolence is the best strategy to getting social change in that situation or for that issue.

There is one other thing I want to touch upon, that is Sharp’s view of power. Sharp’s view is similar to another theorist that we read about, Étienne de La Boétie. Their views are that power dynamics come from the bottom up. And if the people withdraw their support for the person in power; that person would become part of the masses. This is the concept of civil disobedience. I respect the idea of civil disobedience I believe we must be careful with it. Because if used the wrong way we could have anarchy, and I am not an advocate of anarchy which I have talked about in previous blogs. There must be a line so that we do not run that risk.