In the popular misconception fostered by blockbuster
action movies and best-selling thrillers - not to
mention conventional explanations by social scientists -
violence is easy under certain conditions, like poverty,
racial or ideological hatreds, or family pathologies.
Randall Collins challenges this view in ''Violence'',
arguing that violent confrontation goes against human
physiological hardwiring. It is the exception, not the
rule - regardless of the underlying conditions or
motivations. Collins gives a comprehensive explanation
of violence and its dynamics, drawing upon video
footage, cutting-edge forensics, and ethnography to
examine violent situations up close as they actually
happen - and his conclusions will surprise you. Violence
comes neither easily nor automatically. Antagonists are
by nature tense and fearful, and their confrontational
anxieties put up a powerful emotional barrier against
violence. Collins guides readers into the very real and
disturbing worlds of human discord - from domestic abuse
and schoolyard bullying to muggings, violent sports, and
armed conflicts.He reveals how the fog of war pervades
all violent encounters, limiting people mostly to
bluster and bluff, and making violence, when it does
occur, largely incompetent, often injuring someone other
than its intended target. Collins shows how violence can
be triggered only when pathways around this emotional
barrier are presented. He explains why violence
typically comes in the form of atrocities against the
weak, ritualized exhibitions before audiences, or
clandestine acts of terrorism and murder - and why a
small number of individuals are competent at violence.
''Violence'' overturns standard views about the root
causes of violence and offers solutions for confronting
it in the future. |
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