Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It is a philosophy that may come from the belief that hurting people, animals, and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome. Nonviolence specifically refers to the absence of violence and it is always the choice to do no harm or the choice to do the least amount of harm. Sometimes nonviolence is passive, and other times it isnt. Practicing nonviolence goes deeper than abstaining from violent behavior or words. It means overriding the impulse to be hateful and holding love for everyone, even those with whom one strongly disagrees. For some, the commitment to non-violence entails a belief in restorative or transformative justice, an abolition of the death penalty, and other harsh punishments.

Nonviolence is often linked with peace or used as a synonym for it, and despite the fact that it is frequently equated with pacifism, this equation is rejected by nonviolent advocates and activists. Nonviolence seeks to resist evil without resorting to violence. It seeks to win the “friendship and understanding” of others, and the result of nonviolence is redemption and reconciliation. Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people, and it recognizes that evildoers are also victims and are not evil people. Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform, and it accepts suffering without retaliation. Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate, and it resists violence of the spirit as well as the body. Finally, nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice.

Nonviolence can be a strategic application of tactics to achieve goals. Individuals and campaigns that utilize nonviolence can be segmented into two groups: principled and pragmatic. The difference is in their goals and motivations. Tactical nonviolence, also known as pragmatic nonviolence, is utilitarian in nature. Its goal is to accomplish specific objectives and to defeat adversaries through nonviolent direct action. Its power concern is to gain “power over others” and is expressed in more adversarial terms. Tactical nonviolence views physical violence as ineffective or impractical. Nonviolence is preferred so long as it is.