Opinion

Some Things Are Worth Not Dying For

We have always had wars because most people believe that some things are worth dying for—or killing for. On an individual level, sometimes there is no other way, or no better way to protect your life, your freedom, or those close to you, than by killing for them. But when groups are threatened, what if there was another way to defend those values, a way as effective as warfare but less dangerous and costly?

Recent research has shown that there are resistance techniques which do not use violence, but which often have been just as effective. These techniques take advantage of one primary fact: rulers, even terrorist rulers, are thoroughly dependent on their victim's acceptance of the submissive role. The largely nonviolent overthrow of Baby Doc in Haiti and Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines dramatically illustrates this dependence.

Historically there are hundreds of examples of people using nonviolent means to resist both domestic and foreign oppression. Many of these cases have been surprisingly effective. They are not limited to struggles against "democratic" societies, such as Ghandi's struggle in India. They include Poland's Solidarity Movement, Czechoslovakia's seven-month defiance of Russian occupation troops in 1968, Denmark's refusal to comply with Nazi racial edicts, and the overthrow of the dictators of El Salvador and Guatemala in 1944.

Most historical cases were either partially or fully successful in circumstances where violent resistance would have been crushed within days. Furthermore, the results of the nonviolent resistance were gained with only a fraction of the casualties of armed combat.

All of this suggests that civilian-based defense, as the subject has come to be known, has an enormous potential for further development. With sufficient research, training of citizens, and other advance preparations, it is conceivable that civilian-based defense could deter or defeat either foreign aggressors or internal oppression more effectively, in some cases, than military measures. In fact, several European countries are actively researching this possibility.

Obviously we are a long way from that capability now. We can however, bring that goal closer by becoming informed about the issues and potentials of civilian-based defense, and by promoting public awareness of it, in order to stimulate research, discussion, and other necessary preparations.

This is a particularly fertile subject for libertarians for two reasons. First, the strategies and tactics of civilian-based defense are designed specifically to undermine the legitimacy of ruling groups actions. Second, if civilian-based defense proves capable of deterring or defeating foreign aggression, it is a program that can be carried out by private groups as well as by governments.

For those who want to explore the subject, a place to start is the Introductory Packet on Civilian Defense, available from the Association for Transarmament Studies, 3636 Lafayette Ave., Omaha, NE 68131.