Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why did William Godwin oppose violent revolution?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Red anarchy symbol, a capital letter A inside a circle, painted with rough brush strokes on a white background. — anarchism The “circle-A,” a common anarchist symbol.

William Godwin opposed violent revolution because he believed it inevitably produces new forms of tyranny rather than true freedom.1

In his seminal work, Political Justice, Godwin argued that the remedy for the corruption of centralized states is not the upheaval of violent conflict, but rather the advancement of reason, education, and individual liberty. He viewed the tyranny of "multitudes drunk with power" as being just as destructive as the rule of kings or oligarchs. Consequently, he advocated for a gradual transition toward a society of small, autonomous communities where individuals could act according to their own conscience, free from the coercive influence of government.123