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conflict and class inequality
class conflicts and inequality
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INTRODUCTION
This essay will try to analyze reasons behind violence during revolutions as studies have shown that peaceful revolutions are more successful than violent ones (53% vs 26%) (Lakey, 2012). It is necessary to point out where exactly violence comes into action so the essay will deal with six possible causes that startle violence amongst demonstrators: inequality/class conflict/instability, individual(public) desire for leadership, lack of dialog/compromise, lack of democracy, violation of human rights/extremism and lastly, escalation.
“Since the source of violence rests with reaction, whether or not it will appear depends not so much upon the will to use it but rather upon the capacity to use it.” (Aptheker, 1967)
It is important to study why are people behaving violently in order for the government or anyone with influence to take precautions reducing forceful actions.
INEQUALITY, INSTABILITY (CLASS CONFLICT)
Edward N. Muller says that since ancient times (Aristotle up to de Tocqueville) social philosophers thought that economic inequality (hand in hand with relative deprivation and resource mobilization) causes revolutions and political violence. (Muller, 1985:47) However, latest researches suggest that the importance is lower but still significant and it also takes regime repressiveness into account. (Muller, 1985:48) “A high level of inequality and a regime structure that is neither democratic nor totalitarian appear to be two potent ingredients of a recipe for political instability.” (Muller, 1985:60)
Class conflict, associated with the above-mentioned, is the division between the poor and the rich –the gap is increased during revolutions, social order breaks down, chaos follows, citizens feel less se...
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Structural violence is differentiated from direct violence both in terms of etiology and nature. D...
Pinker, Steven. "Violence Vanquished." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 24 Sept. 2011. Web.
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A great revolutionary once said, “The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.” The revolutionary in this quote, Che Guevara, epitomizes the notion that revolutions are not a random occurrence but rather a continuous push for a fundamental change. In the framework of revolutions that have occurred in the world, most notably those that have occurred in Britain, America, France, and Haiti; one realizes that the elements of competition and mass mobilization are intrinsic to understanding the successes of each revolutionary movement. Yet, the catalysts and societal implications for each of these revolutions provides different venues of implementation that separates it from others.
Violence causes a great deal of suffering and harm in the world today and yesterday (Cross 2013). Peace and conflict researchers are undeniably justified in their selection of inter and intra-state violence as objects of study because the social context for both the performance and understanding of violence is of central importance (Cross 2013). However it is surprisingly rare to find a definition of violence (Moore 2003). Thus uncertainty prevails as to whether violence is limited to physical abuse or includes verbal and psychological abuse (Moore 2003). Agreeing with Moore (2003), Galtung (1969) said it is not important to arrive at a definition of violence because there are obliviously many types of violence. Violence is not
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Throughout human history, violence, for the most part, has been a perpetual struggle we’ve faced. It does not discriminate against location, color, or creed, and it has an impact, lasting or not, on each of us at some point during our lives. Living in a Western country, many of us have become accustomed to the idea that true violence only lives in the ravaged lands of warring countries or the dilapidated streets of rundown neighborhoods, but in truth it can be found anywhere. Community center’s, schools, churches, and even the most secluded towns all encounter violence, though sometimes behind closed doors, everyone is vulnerable to it. But what prompts it to occur exactly? Violence itself stems from the causality of several different factors,
Social Revolutions in the Modern World is a compilation of essays, which updates and expands arguments Skocpol posed years earlier regarding social revolutions in her previous book, States and Social Revolutions. The updated arguments seek to explain how we can better understand recent revolutionary upheavals in countries across the globe and why social revolutions have happened in some countries, but not in others. Throughout the book, Skocpol illustrates how ideas about states and societies can aid in identifying the particular types of regimes that are susceptible to the growth of revolutionary movements as well as those that are vulnerable to seizure of state power by revolutionary aggressors. Skocpol argu...
Toch, H (1966) The Social Psychology of Violence. . In Megargee, I & Hokanson, E (Eds.) The Dynamics of Agression (1970) Harper & Row Publishers pp. 160 -169
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