Abstract

This w ork distinguishes bet w een violence used to attain a speci f ic purpose and violence intended or practice for itself. C r uelty is characterised as violence for violenc e' sa k e. Th e aim is to try to f ind an e xplanation for that c r uelty w hich can be described as absolute violence. F or that reason, reference is made to a series of books that h a v e dealt with the subject that, in spite of allusions to other types of cruel t y , end b y speaking of militar y cr uelt y . An attempt to determine the 'functio n ' of c r uelty leads to an understanding of the conditions that ma k e it possi b le: impuni t y , fear and the culture of hate. F inal l y , the human being does not appear to be c r uel per se , but as someone w ho feels compelled to be so b y 'p o w er'