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Force vs. Violence

Force and violence are often spoken about as if they are one and the same, and used interchangeably. While in fact, they are actually diametrically opposed, polar opposites.

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Force

The capacity to do work or cause physical change. For any change to be created in the physical world in any capacity, physical force must be applied. There is nothing you can do to change something in the physical world, that doesn’t require force. The words you are reading right now were typed out by hand using physical force.

Force is the capacity to perform physical work, physical change.

Action which is in harmony with morality and Natural Law because it does not violate others’ rights. As soon as a person steps over that line, and uses initiation of force for coercive reasons or applications, that is what makes it violence instead of force. Force itself is not the same as violence.

Action which one always possesses the right to take (including defense against violence). When you are approached with violence you reserve the right to use physical force defensively against such an assault.

Violence

The immoral initiation of physical power to coerce, compel or restrain. Initiation^🡵 is the key-word here. Nobody ever has the right to enact violence; because violence is always starting the conflict.

The immoral initiation of force is violence.

For example, what often happens in primary schools when two students get into a physical altercation, the teachers usually tend to say: "It doesn’t matter who started it". While that is one of the absolute most critically important things that matters. Because the person that struck first, is the person that conducted violence, they initiated the immoral use of physical force.

Coercive action which is in opposition to morality and Natural Law because it involves the violation of others’ rights. This is exactly why it’s called violence; it violates the rights of other people. The act of violating rights is what violence is, it’s derived from the same root word, the Latin verb Violare, which means "to Treat with violence or dishonour".

Action which one never possesses the right to take. There exists no such thing as the right to commit violence. However, one always reserves the right to use force in a defensive capacity, up to, and including deadly force.