Sir Wendell on Sanctioned Violence's Failure

Wendell Berry in the essay "The Failure of War" from Citizenship Papers, writes this on "sanctioned enterprises of violence."

Abortion-as-birth-control is justified as a "right," which can establish itself only by denying all the rights of another person, which is the most primitive intenet of warfare. Capital punishment sinks us all to the same level of primal belligerance, at which is an act of violence is avenged is avenged by another act of violence. What justifiers of these wrongs ignore is the fact-as well established by the history of fueds or the history og anger as by the history of war-that violence breeds violence. Acts of violence committed in "justice" or in affirmation of "rights" or in defense of "peace" do not end violence. they prepare and justify its continuation.