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Leo Tolstoy Controversy

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3.3 TOLSTOY’S DENUNCIATION OF STATE AND REVOLUTIONARIES After Leo Tolstoy discovering the moral teaching of Jesus Christ, he realized that any kinds of violence are not justifiable, because it always causes more violence, for violence creates more violence. He put into writings; letters, essays, etc., his criticism against the State and the revolutionary. He said in one of his essays, But ruling means using force and using force means doing to him to whom force is used, what he does not like and what he who uses the force would certainly not like done to himself. Consequently ruling means doing to others what we would not they should do unto us, that is, doing wrong. He criticizes them because during his time he experienced many immoral …show more content…

The governments’ educate the people to act violently, and the people do evil things, because for them what the government was done is moral and right. The greatest effect of this inhuman action, besides the direct evil effect on the victims and their family, it brings an enormous evil to the whole people. Leo Tolstoy also compares the activities of the Government and the Bandit, he said; The activity of the government is much more inhuman and, above all things, much more harmful than the activity of the bandit. The bandit for the most part robs the rich, while the government for the most part rob the poor while they protect the rich, whole help them in their crimes…. The bandit does not intentionally corrupt people, while the governments corrupt whole generations of children and adults. In this phrase Leo Tolstoy stated the evil that the bandit can be justified than the evil that the government did. The bandit acts only in order to survive but not deliberately corrupt the mind of the people, but the government acts badly to the poor and help the rich who finance them in their immoral activities. 3.3.1.1 …show more content…

Even though Tolstoy denounces war as one of the most brutal example of state violence, before he was converted to the Christian belief, he was become part of the government forces. He participated in any war against other countries for he was a soldier. So, after Tolstoy converted to Christianity, his attraction in immoral things turned into absolute denunciation both of the process of war and of the hypocrisy of the state. 3.3.1.2 Laws and Orders As part of Tolstoy’s denunciation of the state, he criticizes also the laws and order which the government enforced to the people. In Tolstoy’s book entitled The Slavery of our time, he said, The one characteristic of all laws is that their enforcement is based on the treat of punishment: if one man does not fulfill them, those who have made these laws will send armed men, and the armed men will beat, deprive of freedom, or even kill, the man who does not obey the

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