The Revolution of Values

This is a short and informative book on the origins of Martin Luther King's moral and political philosophy. Some of these roots are well-known and covered in separate chapters on Henry David Thoreau and Mahatma Gandhi, though his Christianity is essential background in this respect, also in generating a moral force for a revolution of values. One person missing here is Tolstoy, whose influence on Gandhi was very considerable with his reading of the New Testament and especially the injunction in the Sermon on the Mount about turning the other cheek. An additional important element is personalism – a commitment to personal dignity and self-respect in promoting democracy as a vital living ideal. The two most important universal principles are love and justice, and it is interesting to read about the influence of Hegel in finding a synthesis in nonviolence beyond acquiescence and violence. Evil must be resisted, but not with violence - here lies the difference between King and Malcolm X, highlighted in chapter 6. It is worth noting that King was also inspired by Jefferson and Lincoln, while Malcolm X drew on the writings Frantz Fanon with his analysis of colonialism as structural violence and domination demanding a corresponding response. King, however, sought a peaceful revolution based on shared ethical values and emancipatory theology. This is still an important message for our time, even if King is not the moral exemplar he once was with respect to his sexual life.