During this second session we’ll read passages from the second part of the book. In it, Arendt sets apart words that are often used as synonyms, but whose difference in her opinion is of great importance. Consider, for example, ‘power’, ‘strength’, ‘force’, ‘authority’, and of course ‘violence’. By differentiating these, she implicitly describes the place ‘violence’ has in humankind and its societies. The question remains: what’s the rightful place of violence in the world?
“To sum up: politically speaking, it is insufficient to say that power and violence are not the same. Power and violence are opposites; where the one rules absolutely, the other is absent. Violence appears where power is in jeopardy, but left to its own course it ends in power’s disappearance. This implies that it is incorrect to think of the opposite of violence as nonviolence; to speak of non-violent power is actually redundant.” [Hannah Arendt, On Violence (Boston/New York: Mariner Books, 1970): p. 56.]
Have a cup of tea or coffee with us, and join for a conversation on violence. There’s no preparation whatsoever; just read along as we go. We’re happy to have you.