Sanjay Lal – författare

With an intense focus on both the depth and practicality of Mahatma Gandhi’s political and religious thought this book reveals the valuable insights Gandhi offers to anyone concerned about the prospects of liberalism in the contemporary world. Gandhi’s Religious Thought and Liberal Democracy makes the case that for Gandhi, in stark contrast to commonly accepted liberal orthodoxy, religion is indispensable to the public life, and indeed the official activity, of any genuinely liberal society. Gandhi scholars, political theorists, and activist members of a lay audience alike will all find much to digest, comment upon, and be motivated by in this work.

Given the ubiquity of violence in our world, the ever present call to renounce violence has the understandable tendency to ring hollow to many of us. There is no shortage of evidence showing that we really don’t oppose violence as much as we claim to. By conceptually analyzing the terms “violence” and “nonviolence,” as well as by offering palpable readings of Gandhi’s thought and discussing how we can better identify with others, Violence, Nonviolence, and Moral Worth offers insight into how we can begin reducing the gap between our professed reverence for nonviolence and our everyday practices. Sanjay Lal argues that neither our inability to perfectly uphold nonviolent practice nor the reality that moral worth is often exhibited through acts of violence should be an obstacle to affirming the value of a more comprehensive ethic of nonviolence. Peace theorists, activists, and anyone interested in a less violence-filled existence will find much to take away from this work.