The Threat of Violence Creates Social Hierarchy
This post doesn't have much to do with Islam but another insightful view, I feel, nonetheless.
At the heart of every human interaction is the threat of
harm, with an emphasis on violence. With the threat of harm comes power. The
use of power in a kind manner is praiseworthy because you have the choice of
harming.
Ex1: Say you are a loving father to a young child. You do not want to harm him but if he acts up, you take away his toys. If the child resists getting his toys taken away, he will be physical about it and when the toys are actually taken away from him, he will throw a tantrum because he knows he cannot get it back because the father has the physical capacity to keep it away from him and cannot be threatened with violence to give it back to him. If the child doesn't resist, the child knows that the father has the threat of violence against him or that he never really felt 'punished' by the punishment!
Ex2: In the home, when the husband and wife get into an
argument, the wife must submit to the husband because at the very base of the
argument is his threat of violence, simply because he might be bigger,
stronger, or more aggressive. It is not the violence itself that causes the
hierarchy but the threat of violence. If the threat is non-existent, that means
the husband is weaker than the wife or that he is not passionate about his
cause. If the threat goes out of existence by means of actualization, then the
wife could just leave the husband and/or society will gang against the
aggressive husband.
Ex3: Two men and only one seat exists. One is big, strong,
loud, and aggressive, and the other is average, quiet, and civilized. Out of
the threat of violence, and not violence itself, a hierarchy is established,
and the bigger man gets what he wants. Keep in mind it is not necessarily
strength that is the determining factor as much as a threat of violence. If the
big man was a smaller, loud, aggressive male, he too would also cause the
civilized male (who could be bigger) to back down. These hierarchies determine
who gets to push who around, who deserves respect, and who is not meant to be
toyed with.
Ex4: A high powered female CEO scolds a subordinate man who
is 70 kg heavier than her. Should she scold that man, the man may submit out of
threat of harm (losing his job). However, there is a subconscious social limit
to the amount of scolding she can do because that man still has the threat of
violence within him whereas she could scold a man who is weaker than herself
indefinitely.
Ex5: In mafias, although the people within them may be weak
or scrawny, their coordinated efforts display a threat of violence and this
brings them power. They can go into any store and demand anything from the
owner; should the owner not comply, they will use violence against the owner. Similarly,
policemen only have authority when they have the threat of violence in terms of
numbers or in terms of guns. Because mafias have power and will trade this
violence for money, this opens the avenue for money to be seen as power. Thus
wealth becomes a threat of violence and increased wealth leads to power!
Ex6: A bully demands you give over to him your lunch money
daily. He is bigger than you and stronger than you and has the threat of
violence, so you comply. One day rather than threatening to be violent, he
actualizes the threat and becomes violent and beats you up. Once you get the
teacher involved, the bully gets scared because the teacher also has the threat
of violence. In the past, there used to be corporal punishment and humiliation,
but nowadays, that is not possible, so the threat of violence towards the bully
is reduced and his inhibition to exercise his own violence is also reduced. But
even today, once the teacher is notified, they notify the parents who have the
threat of violence towards the bully. Therefore, the threat of violence keeps
the bully in check.
Ex7: In order to keep entire nations in check, we use
violence to establish a blatant hierarchy and with that comes authority. The
threat of violence keeps the order, violence itself causes disorder! Keep that in mind when discussing the nature of jihad and intimidation!
Ex8: In order to keep people in ethical behavior in
religion, there is the threat of violence even with the conception of Hell!
This is another source of Allah’s authority from the limited subconscious perspective
of human beings.
Remember, it is not the violence itself that will get what
you want. If violence is used recklessly, then the rest of society will gang up
and destroy the violent. This is what prison is for if it comes from below and
this is what revolutions are for if it comes from above.
Therefore, to use the power of the threat of violence, you must
find a way to use the threat of violence without it coming into actualization.
Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.
– West African Proverb