g evil. At least the last five indicate the positive
desire to change the active policy of the evil-doer, either by
persuasion or by compulsion. As we shall see, in practice they tend to
involve a coercive element. Only in their rejection of violence are all
these terms in agreement. Perhaps we are justified in accepting
_opposition to violence_ as the heart of the pacifist philosophy. Under
the definition of violence which has been suggested, this would amount
to virtually the same thing as saying that the pacifist has such respect
for every human personality that he cannot, under any circumstances
whatsoever, intentionally inflict permanent injury upon any human being
either physically or psychologically. This statement deserves further
examination.

All pacifists approve the use of "force," as we have defined it, and
actually do use it, since it includes such things as "the force of
love," "the force of example," or "the force of public opinion."[11]
There are very few pacifists who would draw the line even at the use of
_physical_ force. Most of them would approve it in restraining children
or the mentally ill from injuring themselves or others, or in the
organized police force of a community under the proper safeguards of the
courts and law.[12]

Many pacifists are also willing to accept coercion, provided it be
non-violent. The strike, the boycott, or even the mass demonstration
involve an element of coercion as we have defined that term. Shridharani
assures us that despite Gandhi's insistence to the contrary, "In the
light of events in India in the past twenty years as well as in the
light of certain of Gandhi's own activities, ... it becomes apparent
that Satyagraha does contain the element of coercion, if in a somewhat
modified form."[13] Since to some people "coercion" implies revenge or
punishment, Shridharani would, however, substitute the word "compulsion"
for it. Gandhi himself and many of his followers would claim that the
techniques of Satyagraha are only a marshalling of the forces of
sympathy, public opinion, and the like, and that they are persuasive
rather than coercive. At any rate a distinction, on the basis of the
spirit in which they are undertaken, between types of action which are
outwardly similar seems perfectly valid.

There are other pacifists who would even accept a certain element of
violence, as we have defined it, provided it were not physical in
nature. Some persons with boundless g