The Law of Love AND The Law of Violence (Leo Tolstoy)

Leo Tolstoy was a radical. In his 80s he wrote The Law of Love AND Violence, a relatively short (about 120 pages) work advocating love, non-violence and civil disobedience. Tolstoy, a very religious person, blamed the state of global affairs near the end of his lifetime on a lack of true Christians. Inequality and the enslavement of labourers by capitalists, war, murder and hate are all, according to Tolstoy, the result of an absence of the law of love.

Christianity, he believes, has love as its supreme law. He notes that Budda and Tao-Tse, as well as other "ancient religions" recommend showing "love to every human being and for people to return good for evil," but he says that Christianity is the only religion with love in a supreme position.

Like so many people at the start of the 20th century, Tolstoy believed that change was coming at any time. He describes the social organization as being "built on ice" with a "melting foundation." He scolds the Catholic and Protestant church for misleading people and creating a cult which uphold the social order, rather than challenging it. He even goes so far as to blame the working class for allowing themselves to be oppressed and abused rather than stepping away from the social order and existing in self sufficiency.

Near the end of the book, Tolstoy goes so far as to point out the governments are temporary and can easily be abolished. He does not suggest what will occur when people attempt to live without government on the grounds that he does not know, but he seems to promote the idea of an absence of government. He writes that the absence of government would also remove the horrors of government. At the same time he criticizes the revolutionaries in Russia for their use of violence, choosing to side with neither the government, the church, or the revolutionaries. (perhaps it is a good thing that this text was not published in Russia during his lifetime).

I admit, I have read very little Tolstoy in my life. At fifteen I attempted to read War and Peace but due its size, dryness and large number of characters I did not make it past the two-hundredth page. At the time I had no knowledge of Tolstoy's politics of religious sentiments. I did not encounter Tolstoy the pacifist until my first year of university. I am glad I have. Although I do not believe as Tolstoy seems to that eventually the world will be free of violence, I do like the idea of a violence free world.

Total non-violence may be impossible, but it is a utopia which we should strive to get as close to as possible. The more people who make the choice to live non-violently, the more peaceful our world will become.