--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pacifism, to me, is primarily a way of…" description: "\"Pacifism, to me, is primarily a way of actively struggling against injustice and inhumanity; My kind of pacifism may be called \"non-violent resistance\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43b/dwight-macdonald-41117_inhumanity_pacifism-to-me-is-primarily-a-way-of-act_2765430.png" --- # Pacifism, to me, is primarily a way of actively struggling… ![“Pacifism, to me, is primarily a way of actively struggling against injustice and inhumanity; My kind of pacifism may be called "non-violent resistance".” quote by Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43b/dwight-macdonald-41117_inhumanity_pacifism-to-me-is-primarily-a-way-of-act_2765430.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43b/dwight-macdonald-41117_inhumanity_pacifism-to-me-is-primarily-a-way-of-act_2765430.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43b/dwight-macdonald-41117_inhumanity_pacifism-to-me-is-primarily-a-way-of-act_2765430.png) > “Pacifism, to me, is primarily a way of actively struggling against injustice and inhumanity; My kind of pacifism may be called "non-violent resistance".” [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pacifism is active resistance against injustice through non‑violent means. **In simple terms:** Non‑violence is active struggle. Key Takeaway Practice peaceful resistance. Themes peace activism non‑violence social justice ethical action Mood philosophical political Type critical inspirational When to use this quote - political campaigns - community organizing Key Concepts civil disobedience moral philosophy strategic protest Questions to Reflect On - When is force justified? - How to sustain non‑violent movements? A Different Perspective Non‑violence may be ineffective against extreme oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inhumanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inhumanity/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kind Pacifism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-pacifism-3201616/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Non violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/non-violent/) [Non violent resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/non-violent-resistance-132851/) [Pacifism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacifism/) [Pacifism Called](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacifism-called-3201615/) [Pacifism Primarily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacifism-primarily-3201614/) [Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent/) [Violent Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent-resistance-1616139/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [But there is another way. And that is to organize mass non-violent resistance based on the principle of love. It seems to me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/but-there-is-another-way-and-that-is-to-organize-mass-non-violent/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The greatness of non-violent resistance is that even as man is faced with tyranny, and the resulting suffering, he responds to hate with love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-xia/the-greatness-of-non-violent-resistance-is-that-even-as-man-is-faced/) [Liu Xia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-xia/) > [Non-violent resistance implies the very opposite of weakness. Defiance combined with non-retaliatory acceptance of repression from one's opponents is active, not passive. It requires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/non-violent-resistance-implies-the-very-opposite-of-weakness-defiance/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [A truly nonviolent man would never live to tell the tale of atrocities. He would have laid down his life on the spot in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-truly-nonviolent-man-would-never-live-to-tell-the-tale-of/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Non-violent resistance activities cannot succeed against an enemy that is able freely to use violence. That's pretty obvious. You can't have non-violent resistance against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/non-violent-resistance-activities-cannot-succeed-against-an-enemy/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Any government's condemnation of terrorism is only credible if it shows itself to be responsive to persistent, reasonable, closely argued, non-violent dissent. And yet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/any-government-s-condemnation-of-terrorism-is-only-credible-if-it/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Violent resistance against the power of the state is the last resort of the minority in its effort to break loose from the oppression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/violent-resistance-against-the-power-of-the-state-is-the-last-resort/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Violent resistance and nonviolent resistance share one very important thing in common: They are both a form of theater seeking an audience to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-bacha/violent-resistance-and-nonviolent-resistance-share-one-very-important/) [Julia Bacha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-bacha/) > [“Non-violent resistance to evil is a quintessential element of the character of a real human being. If someone does wrong to me, I may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/non-violent-resistance-to-evil-is-a-quintessential-element-of-the/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“When we find ourselves in a difficult situation of any sort, there are often two “easy” choices: passive submission and violent resistance. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vironika-tugaleva/when-we-find-ourselves-in-a-difficult-situation-of-any-sort-there-are/) [Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/) > [And in the racial climate of this country today, it is anybody's guess which of the 'extremes' in approach to the black man's problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/and-in-the-racial-climate-of-this-country-today-it-is-anybody-s-guess/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I'm a very great non-violent character. I would never resort to violence to change anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-brown/i-m-a-very-great-non-violent-character-i-would-never-resort-to/) [Bob Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-brown/) > [If I were asked to define the Hindu creed, I should simply say: Search after truth through non-violent means. A man may not believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-i-were-asked-to-define-the-hindu-creed-i-should-simply-say-search/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [There's no reason to be non-violent. There's no challenge unless you are living for people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/there-s-no-reason-to-be-non-violent-there-s-no-challenge-unless-you/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/victory-attained-by-violence-is-tantamount-to-a-defeat-for-it-is/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More by Dwight Macdonald > [The Anarchists' uncompromising rejection of the State, the subject of Marxian sneers for its "absolutist" and "Utopian" character, makes much better sense in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/the-anarchists-uncompromising-rejection-of-the-state-the-subject-of/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [A foundation is a large amount of money completely surrounded by people who want some.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/a-foundation-is-a-large-amount-of-money-completely-surrounded-by/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [Paul Newman is simple not an actor and possibly not even alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/paul-newman-is-simple-not-an-actor-and-possibly-not-even-alive/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [Conversation means being able to disagree and still continue the discussion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/conversation-means-being-able-to-disagree-and-still-continue-the/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [By 'socialism' I mean a classless society in which the State has disappeared, production is cooperative, and no man has political or economic power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/by-socialism-i-mean-a-classless-society-in-which-the-state-has/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [I now see Norman Thomas as indeed a liberal, but as a real, old-fashioned, unreconstructed liberal who believes in freedom and justice for everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/i-now-see-norman-thomas-as-indeed-a-liberal-but-as-a-real-old/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [One cannot demand that anybody be a hero, though one can hope for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/one-cannot-demand-that-anybody-be-a-hero-though-one-can-hope-for-it/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [Paul Newman is simply not an actor and possibly not even alive; seems to be carved from wood, his movements stiff and jerky as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/paul-newman-is-simply-not-an-actor-and-possibly-not-even-alive-seems/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) [Explore all 9 Dwight Macdonald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) ## More Inhumanity quotes > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [“I had not then learned the measure of “man’s inhumanity to man,” nor to what limitless extent of wickedness he will go for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-northup/i-had-not-then-learned-the-measure-of-man-s-inhumanity-to-man-nor-to/) [Solomon Northup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-northup/) > [An increasing number of people are growing uncomfortable with the gulf between the world's rich and the poor. Ostentatiously splashing your money around simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalle-lasn/an-increasing-number-of-people-are-growing-uncomfortable-with-the/) [Kalle Lasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalle-lasn/) > [“You can be bit in the leg by a rattlesnake and seek help to heal your wound, or you can run after it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/you-can-be-bit-in-the-leg-by-a-rattlesnake-and-seek-help-to-heal-your/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“The human race comes from Africa, but inhumanity originated in Europe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-human-race-comes-from-africa-but-inhumanity-originated-in-europe/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Our lack of community is intensely painful. A TV talk show is not community. A couple of hours in a church pew each Sabbath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/our-lack-of-community-is-intensely-painful-a-tv-talk-show-is-not/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [I remember as a child of eight being told by a young friend that I had killed Christ. That was news to me. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/i-remember-as-a-child-of-eight-being-told-by-a-young-friend-that-i/) [Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) > [The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that's the essence of inhumanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-worst-sin-toward-our-fellow-creatures-is-not-to-hate-them-but-to/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Almost as many inhumanities are committed in the name of love as in the name of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-davis/almost-as-many-inhumanities-are-committed-in-the-name-of-love-as-in/) [Bette Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-davis/) > [We cannot afford to regard as normal the presence of injustice, inhumanity, and violence, including their verbal and cyber manifestations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/we-cannot-afford-to-regard-as-normal-the-presence-of-injustice/) [Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/) > [More inhumanity (to man) has been done by man himself than any other of nature's causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-von-pufendorf/more-inhumanity-to-man-has-been-done-by-man-himself-than-any-other-of/) [Samuel von Pufendorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-von-pufendorf/) > [That the desires of the majority of the people are often for injustice and inhumanity against the minority, is demonstrated by every page of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/that-the-desires-of-the-majority-of-the-people-are-often-for/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [I became an anti-fascist, and the more I saw what was happening to the peoples of Europe, the Jews, the more I saw the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-belafonte/i-became-an-anti-fascist-and-the-more-i-saw-what-was-happening-to-the/) [Harry Belafonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-belafonte/) > [We recall our terrible past so that we can deal with it, to forgive where forgiveness is necessary, without forgetting; to ensure that never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/we-recall-our-terrible-past-so-that-we-can-deal-with-it-to-forgive/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [You yourself create all your misery, hour after hour, day after day. You think the goal justifies the means, even the vile means. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/you-yourself-create-all-your-misery-hour-after-hour-day-after-day-you/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) [Browse all 170 Inhumanity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inhumanity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Pacifism, to me, is primarily a way of actively struggling against injustice and inhumanity; My kind of pacifism may be called \"non-violent resistance\".", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dwight Macdonald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/pacifism-to-me-is-primarily-a-way-of-actively-struggling-against/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Inhumanity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/pacifism-to-me-is-primarily-a-way-of-actively-struggling-against/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43b/dwight-macdonald-41117_inhumanity_pacifism-to-me-is-primarily-a-way-of-act_2765430.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43b/dwight-macdonald-41117_inhumanity_pacifism-to-me-is-primarily-a-way-of-act_2765430.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43b/dwight-macdonald-41117_inhumanity_pacifism-to-me-is-primarily-a-way-of-act_2765430.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Pacifism, to me, is primarily a way of actively struggling against injustice and inhumanity; My kind of…” — Dwight Macdonald", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dwight Macdonald", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Pacifism, to me, is primarily a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/pacifism-to-me-is-primarily-a-way-of-actively-struggling-against/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/pacifism-to-me-is-primarily-a-way-of-actively-struggling-against/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```