"Do what is right, and let come what may": Tolstoy and penal abolition
The chapter discusses Tolstoy’s version of radical abolitionism. According to Tolstoy, the divinely ordained equality of human beings meant that no form of coercion could ever be legitimate, even, or rather especially, if is it based on law and legal procedures. Robbers and murderers acting at their...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2025
|
| In: |
Envisioning abolition
Year: 2025, Pages: 66-86 |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Summary: | The chapter discusses Tolstoy’s version of radical abolitionism. According to Tolstoy, the divinely ordained equality of human beings meant that no form of coercion could ever be legitimate, even, or rather especially, if is it based on law and legal procedures. Robbers and murderers acting at their own risk understanding that their acts are vile are more likely to repent and deserve more compassion than executioners or judges who send people to the gallows protected by the law and the repressive apparatus of the state. This chapter discusses Tolstoy’s personal experience of dealing with state violence, his theory of violence and his attitude to penal institution and penal abolition as revealed in his last major novel, The Resurrection. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 85-86 |
| ISBN: | 9781529234770 |
