Violence is generally viewed as some form of physical injury inflicted on others. A brief review of the articles in this volume suggests that the public fear of violence may be greater than the actual amount of violent behavior. Assaultive crimes and other forms of violence are summarized. The dominant, middle-class society morally denounces vio lence, perhaps partly because of a general principle which characterizes every established political power and the need to uphold nonviolence as a means of discouraging attacks against that power. The thesis of a "subculture of violence" is briefly outlined and refers to a system of norms and values set apart from the dominant nonviolent culture and which expect or require the use of violence in many kinds of social relationships.