The Virtue of Violence

"Muay Thai" by 'Marchibial'

From the beginning, man has used violence against his fellow man. From the first cavemen who tied stone axes to stout wooden bars, to the forgers of sharp, durable swords from the metal ores, to the ingenious weapon smiths who designed trigger mechanisms for shooting crossbows, to the automatic assault rifles of today, creating a more powerful tool for employing violent force has been a driving motivation in mens' competitive lives throughout the historical record, and long before that. You can go back to the stone ages and find evidence for the evolution of better weaponry over time. So what are we to make of this tendency?

It seems that there is something fundamental to man's nature in regards to violence. It has always been with us, and I think it's very reasonable to suspect that it will not go away any time soon. It seems ingrained into our general nature. Therefore we should embrace it, and accept that it is apart of us. Perhaps we should even celebrate it. Like a virtue of some kind.

So is violence a virtue?

Violence is not often thought of as a virtue. And while I would certainly agree that the use of violence towards unjustifiable or malevolent ends is wrong, it cannot be denied that violence in and of itself is a neutral concept. Violence is like a gun or a knife, a baseball bat or a hammer. It is a tool, a potential to do something, but not wrong or evil in and of itself. Violence can be used against you, and you can use violence for your own purposes. In this sense it is merely a capability, basically just a tool or a form of potential to do something. It can be unleashed for reasons good, ill or neutral. And this is why the capacity to use violence must be cultivated among men. If there is a man who employs violence only when necessary and only for good justifiable reasons, but there is another man out there who is of a more malicious bent who does not care about how he uses violence, who do you feel should be victorious in any conflict between these two men? And what determines the outcome of such a battle? Violence. Victory goes to the man who can use violence and force with greater capacity. The man who knows violence, understands how to use violence, has greater aptitude and methods in its use, is the man who will most likely win. If your form of violence is greater and stronger than another man's, or better yet, the other man does not know violence at all, then you will overcome any resistance that he may present to you. On the other hand, if your capacity for violence is inferior, you will likely lose in any conflict against a man whose capacity in its use is superior. Therefore, work on your violence capacity and develop it, certainly not to use it recklessly or without principle, but at least in order to defend yourself and others from those who can also harness the power of violence for their own ends.