A review of: Nonviolence Versus Capitalism by Brian Martin
London: War Resisters¹ International ©2001
The Virtues of Nonviolent Strategy
by Camy Matthay
"Only a fool would try to remove
an ink spot with more ink;
how can anyone believe that blood stains
can be removed by shedding more blood?²
-Bertha von Suttner, Nobel Peace laureate
Brian Martin's new book Nonviolence Versus Capitalism is a powerful and cogent
argument for the value of using nonviolent action as strategy for moving beyond
capitalism. Though Martin knows that some people adhere to nonviolent strategy
on moral grounds, Martin is saying that even if one lacks these convictions, it
is still possible to support a path based on nonviolence for pragmatic reasons
alone.
Martin¹s reasoning is based on the grounds that the most prominent alternatives
to capitalism that were pursued in the l900s - namely state socialism and social
electoralism- were tried and they consistently failed. Furthermore, he points
out that since socialist alternatives rely on the power of the state, these
strategies differ very little from capitalism in their ultimate dependence on
violence for control of society. Thus, nonviolence in a sense, and if
only by default- deserves a chance.
What use would it be to achieve a cooperative classless society if political and
economic stability was (still) maintained by the threat of state violence?
One form of domination would simply replace a previous form. Under these
conditions of social control, would it mean anything then if the commissars of
the new order claimed their system was more enlightened?
* *
*
To dismantle the capitalist system, Martin stresses that we need to understand
the overriding system as clearly as we can. We need to understand how
capitalism keeps itself in business. And we need to have some grasp however
tenuous- of where we are going, of what is going to be better; we don¹t sail
away from the status quo on analysis or doctrinal purity. Social change has to
develop in an open way from real situations. Thus, if the goal is a world with
far less suffering, it is imperative that we refine our dreams for a nonviolent
future in concrete terms.
In light of this, Martin presents descriptions of four alternative systems that
are explicitly constructed on non-violent foundations. His examples
include: 1.) Sarvoydaya, the Gandhian ideal of self-sufficient village democracy
(a lifestyle being practiced by over six million people in India and Sri Lanka),
2.) an anarchistic model of decentralized direct collective control over all the
affairs of life and relationship, 3.) voluntaryism a spin off of
libertarianism that is based on cooperative relationships in a market economy,
and 4.) demarchy a sociopolitical model that presents a non-coercive and
localized solution to the participation dilemma associated with direct
democracy.
Martin then evaluates these alternatives against conditions he believes a
cooperative, egalitarian, nonviolent society should fulfill. These conditions or
principles are:
€ cooperation
€
that priority should be given to serving those in greatest need
€ that people should have satisfying work
€ that the system should be designed and run by the people themselves
(not by
authorities or experts)
€ and that the people abide by the practice of nonviolence.
*
* *
The most valuable part of Nonviolence Versus Capitalism may be the suggestions
Martin offers on how to assess the anti-capitalistic merits of campaigns
involved with environmental issues, worker¹s rights, etc. Though Martin
admits that a campaign might be extremely important even though it doesn¹t
directly oppose capitalism, his method of assessment, which he condenses into a
few sobering questions, is for a specific anti-capitalistic purpose and as such
has tremendous value to those who are interested in determining whether or not a
strategy merely tweaks the status quo by subtractive and additive reforms, or
promotes revolutionary changes that would effectively challenge the
underpinnings of capitalism.
A strike for higher pay, for example, can be valuable to exploited workers but
it does not challenge the asymmetry of power in the relationship between
employers and workers. A strategy aimed to give workers control over what
they produce and what they would charge for their labor, however, is quite
different since it challenges, among other things, the legitimacy of
hierarchical relations.
In a similar critique of nonviolent strategy, Martin points out how
"withdrawal of consent as a nonviolent tactic can be used to change
relationships to means of production, but revolutionary change is not just a
matter of withdrawing consent from a particular factory owner, but of
withdrawing consent from ownership itself."²
Although factory owners, corporate directors, CEOs, etc., may be the master
thieves, they are nonetheless not the capitalist machine. We are all both guests
and hosts in the Market-Economy Hotel. Expending energy to modify the behavior
of those in the penthouse has proven to be generally useless (e.g., see Michael
Moore¹s film The Big One¹). Identifying and killing those who dominate and
exploit is a 'clear the slate' strategy that presents troubling problems not the
least of which is the fact that it attracts extremists who, under some illusion
of being in possession of the 'true way', practice a kind of despotic
self-righteousness. And bombing the top floors of the Hotel is tantamount to
collective suicide.
What is really going to matter in the years ahead is how carefully the hotel is
dismantled and if the number of people effectively challenging the legitimacy of
capitalism can reach a tipping point. This is no small thing, not only because
of the difficulties associated with challenging intricately distributed systems
of domination, but because technocratic societies produce a surfeit of
disinformation and info-tainment. Desires for wealth and material items for
example, which most modern people subjectively feel, are carefully molded by the
system to maintain the constant economic growth which capitalism requires.
Beyond the mystifications of consumerism, capitalism is also sustained by belief
systems including property, entitlement, individualism, as well as everyday
behaviors including status enhancement, the pursuit of autonomy, and
selfishness. As desires are homogenized, other ways of organizing economic and
social life are extinguished and myopia about the whole commodity system is
controlled and sustained.
As Jerry Farber put it: ³Capitalism is institutionalized selfishness,
institutionalized blindness, institutionalized theft. The blindness, naturally,
we don¹t see. And the theft is so thoroughly disguised that most of the
victims will fight for their right to be robbed.²
*
* *
Much understanding is required to challenge a system of domination capable of
promoting the most artful deceptions in its own self-interest. What will matter
most in the struggle against capitalism, Martin emphasizes, the number of people
who are so enchanted with the possibility of a more humane life that they will
be true to the task of developing local
initiatives where critical questions can be collectively addressed. This would
include questions such as: ³In what kind of society (or non-society) would I
really like to live?² ³In what kind of system can individuals live up to
themselves?²
True to my own experience, if you can create a context where you can offer
people a glimpse of real community, you will awaken in them a longing to
forgotten harmonies so powerful that they cannot be ignored. This
dimension of life, so different than the construct of civilization most of us
were born to, can be like a contagion in your soul -beautiful and compelling
enough to derail you from mainstream agendas.
*
* *
Nonviolence is a method of waging conflict. It is not mere passive resistance,
far more than a precautionary principal, and no more neutral than a gun.
This is an auspicious time: transitional or terminal, I am still undecided. But
Martin¹s book has given me hope, and he has earned my infinite respect, in that
his book -the writing itself- models the faith in human rationality that I
believe would be a principle feature of a post-capitalistic world, that is, a
world that has removed all removable injustices, extended civil associations
beyond coercive institutions and states, and accepted the necessity to defend a
biocentric ethic that takes Life more seriously than individual gain.
Camy Matthay copyleft 2002
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A Footnote [7/03]: Nonviolent strategy has the great virtue of being
self-consistent. In nonviolent strategy, features of the sought-after goal are
built into means so that, as Martin wrote, ³if one believes in a cooperative,
egalitarian, nonviolent economic future, in which priority is given to serving
those in greatest need, then a nonviolent strategy cannot
be too damaging, because it incorporates those features in its methods . . .
.its methods are compatible with its goal.²
This is very different from violent strategies where many social ills are not
addressed until ³after the revolution² and non-combatants endure great
hardships warehoused as internal or international refugees. Additionally,
unlike military or guerrilla tactics that typically place a premium on
recruiting or drafting young men, anyone regardless of their age, gender, or
fitness can productively participate. Responsibility for the ³movement² is
with the people themselves, rather than directed by a cadre of experts.
Furthermore, nonviolent can be effectively used against other systems of
domination, such as state repression, racism, bureaucracy, patriarchy, and the
domination of nature. And, since more of the population can be mobilized in a
participatory fashion than in ³legitimate² violent channels, changes are
likely to be more lasting, more encompassing, and more transformative.
As unfashionable as it may be to say so, the proverb that ³the ends justify the
means² is perilous and absurd when violent means fracture trust in the
expectation of a more stable and less violent future.
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Nonviolence Versus Capitalism by Brian Martin
London: War Resisters’ International ©2001
Available free on the web in html and pdf at
http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/pubs/01nvc/
In addition, there is a printed paperback version available for barter or
purchase (details on the web).