Acts of violence assume many forms: they may travel by the arc of a guided missile or in the language of an economic policy, and they may leave behind a smouldering village or a starved child. The all pervasiveness of violence makes it seem like an unavoidable, and ultimately incomprehensible, aspect of the modern world. But, in this detailed and expansive book, Marc Pilisuk and Jen Rountree demonstrate otherwise. Widespread violence, they argue, is in fact an expression of the underlying social order, and whether it is carried out by military forces or by patterns of investment, the aim is to strengthen that order for the benefit of the powerful. The Hidden Structure of Violence marshals vast amounts of evidence to examine the costs of direct violence, including military preparedness and the social reverberations of war, alongside the costs of structural violence, expressed as poverty and chronic illness. It also documents the relatively small number of people and corporations responsible for facilitating the violent status quo, whether by setting the range of permissible discussion or benefiting directly as financiers and manufacturers. The result is a stunning indictment of our violent world and a powerful critique of the ways through which violence is reproduced on a daily basis, whether at the highest levels of the state or in the deepest recesses of the mind.

Military, economic, and environmental violence in the era of globalization cause immense suffering and may ultimately threaten the existence of life as we know it, but author Pilisuk explains that the future can change if we understand and act upon the roots of violence. A professor emeritus of psychology and human and community development, Pilisuk explains how most violence is the product of a human-built social order in which some people and institutions control most of the resources, make the decisions that necessitate violence, and operate with minimal accountability. The common root of war, poverty, environmental destruction, and other forms of violence is spotlighted. Such violence, says Pilisuk, is a natural consequence of a system inordinately influenced by a relatively small, interconnected group of corporate, military, and government leaders with the power to instill fear, to increase their excessive fortunes, and to restrict information, particularly about their own clandestine dealings. This text includes scholarship hailing from across disciplines, combined with information from investigative journalism, and insights from nonprofit watchdog groups, all shedding light on centralized power and its effects. Pilisuk presents material including the range of tactics used to manipulate and destroy adversaries, the human capacity to kill as a challenge, and how media is used by powerful groups to manipulate fear and maintain their power. Here, readers find solid social science to support what whistleblowers and social critics are observing about a system that needs change.

Acts of violence assume many forms: they may travel by the arc of a guided missile or in the language of an economic policy, and they may leave behind a smouldering village or a starved child. The all pervasiveness of violence makes it seem like an unavoidable, and ultimately incomprehensible, aspect of the modern world. But, in this detailed and expansive book, Marc Pilisuk and Jen Rountree demonstrate otherwise. Widespread violence, they argue, is in fact an expression of the underlying social order, and whether it is carried out by military forces or by patterns of investment, the aim is to strengthen that order for the benefit of the powerful. The Hidden Structure of Violence marshals vast amounts of evidence to examine the costs of direct violence, including military preparedness and the social reverberations of war, alongside the costs of structural violence, expressed as poverty and chronic illness. It also documents the relatively small number of people and corporations responsible for facilitating the violent status quo, whether by setting the range of permissible discussion or benefiting directly as financiers and manufacturers. The result is a stunning indictment of our violent world and a powerful critique of the ways through which violence is reproduced on a daily basis, whether at the highest levels of the state or in the deepest recesses of the mind.