When there is great injustice, it is very tempting
to think that righteous anger is the best response, and even a necessary
response. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that the three most successful
revolutionary freedom movements in the past century have been conducted in a
spirit of non-anger (distinct from, though sometimes joined to, non-violence):
Gandhi’s independence movement, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s role in the U. S. civil
rights movement, and Nelson Mandela’s freedom movement in South Africa.
Studying the thought and practice of these three leaders, I argue that
non-anger is both normatively and practically superior to anger, and that an
analysis of the structure of the emotion can help us to a deeper understanding
of why this is so.
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