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Historical Archetype Of The Social Bandit

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Social bandits, first designated as such in 1959 by social historian Eric Hobsbawm, have a long and colorful history in both folk traditions and real world events. The historical archetype of the social bandit is one of many contradictions: he calls into question the nature of the authoritative bodies by defying them, the justness of laws by breaking them, and the definition of right and wrong in a given cultural context by committing seemingly immoral acts for the benefit of the community at large. Additionally, the prototypical Hobsbawmian figure must meet a stringent list of qualifications to be thus termed: the bandit must participate in thievery or other illegal acts which are circumstantially seen as other than common criminality by …show more content…

Still, both folkloric and historical figures generally accepted as social bandits do exist; a few such as Ned Kelly, Salvatore Giuliano, and of course the historically elusive Robin Hood have gained prominence to some extent despite none fitting perfectly all of Hobsbawm's criteria, suggesting that strict adherence to Hobsbawm's theory is not as important for identifying the social bandit as are an ideological fit to the concept of social banditry and the perception of his role and purpose by public or authority figures. Rather than limiting the scope of social banditry to the strict letter of Hobsbawm's law, it is therefore more helpful to apply the spirit of it to social figures or movements and determine if their functions and ideologies fit within the broader sphere rather than attempting to impose artificial parameters which are too narrow to be of much real-world …show more content…

Hobsbawm first explores his burgeoning theory in Primitive Rebels of 1959, and refines it in Bandits of 1969 and subsequent editions. Hobsbawm defines social banditry as "endemic peasant protest against oppression and poverty: a cry for vengeance on the rich and the oppressors, a vague dream of some curb upon them, a righting of individual wrongs. Its ambitions are modest: a traditional world in which men are justly dealt with, not a new and perfect world." Social protest and rejection of the State or other governing body's laws and demands are pivotal to the theory. Further, a social bandit's crimes are not perceived as actually criminal by his community but are instead deemed acts of inspiration or even salvation for those whom they benefit: "A man becomes a bandit because he does something which is not regarded as criminal by his local conventions, but is so regarded by the State of the local rulers." As a result of these heroic actions the poor of the "population hardly ever helps the authorities to catch the 'peasants' bandit,' but on the contrary protects him . . . [the peasants] regard him as their champion, idealize him, and turn him into a myth." This element of the theory is key, of course, because the protection of the community is dependent upon the approval of the

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