Violence establishing law and maintaining law and non-violent measures („pure measures”) of resolving conflicts between individuals and in politics – in the light of Walter Benjamin’s theory

Abstract

The issues of the text conclude around the question of violence, whose sources should be sought in the text „A contribution to the criticism of violence” by Walter Benjamin. The subject of reflection are various forms of law-making and law-maintaining violence, as well as their relationship with non-violent measures, thus „pure measures.” This approach allows a critical analysis of the relationship between an individual (a human) and the functioning of the institution (state, power) based on specific legal regulations. The text encourages a reflection on the following: can violence understood as legitimate be moral? and is all violence a means to an equitable or unjust purpose? It seems that the final part of the text, by differentiating the types of violence, dividing it into divine, mythical, educational, allows to answer these two key questions presented above.