Resist not evil

The author examines the doctrine of non-resistance, arguing that state authority ultimately rests on organized violence and that armies, police, courts, and prisons perpetuate force rather than moral order. He surveys the nature and purpose of civil government, critiques the theory and remedial effects of punishment, and traces causes of crime to social conditions rather than innate wickedness. He questions the possibility of just judgment, challenges retributive penalties, and proposes humane, rehabilitative responses grounded in natural law and practical reform of penal codes and judicial machinery. Tolstoyan pacifist thought informs the ethical and practical case for reducing violence in public life.