When Is Political Violence Acceptable? -- Just War Theory, Utilitarianism, and the Regressive Left

On January 20th, 2017, Richard Spencer got sucker punched by an antifa protester at Donald Trump's presidential inauguration. While the unprovoked assault itself was reprehensible, there was a much larger implication - many individuals on the regressive left began to praise Spencer's attacker on social media, stating that the unprovoked attack was justified solely because he was a neo-nazi. The floodgates had been opened, with large numbers of people coming out of the woodwork to call for unprovoked political violence against people who disagree with their ideology.

Let's take an in-depth look at political violence. Can it ever be considered acceptable, on any scale, large or small? Warfare is considered to be a large-scale form of political violence. Can there ever be a just war that is not in self-defense? If so, does that rationale also scale downward: can there ever be a form of interpersonal assault that is not in self-defense that is also justified? Can armed rebellions, civil wars, and independence movements be justified forms of political violence? Can TERRORISM ever be a justified form of political violence?

The regressive left has already given its answer: "YES, if the target of that violence has politics that don't fit our ideology!" But what is the end result of that logic? And why do those on the regressive left not only believe it, but believe it with a carefree, cavalier attitude about the whole affair?

Let's dive into these questions.

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Sargon of Akkad's "Punching Nazis at the UC Berkeley Riots" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyC80feMcgU

Erik Kain's vlog - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KChRqaxKAI

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