Merriam-Webster defines pacifism as “opposition to conflict or violence as a method of settling disputes.” So long as disputes are doable and never everyone is a pacifist, the pacifist can solely hope to reside in peace if some non-pacifists stand on his aspect. In different phrases, being ready for self-defense is crucial to a state of affairs of normal non-violence. (See my EconLog publish “The Economics of Violence: A Quick Introduction.”)
To cite Roman poet Lucan, due consideration being given to the distinction between historic (collective) liberty and fashionable (particular person) liberty:
Ignorantque datos, ne quisquis serviat, enses
[And they ignore that swords are given so that nobody be a slave.]
