In Defense of Looting

hardcover, 288 pages

Published Aug. 25, 2020 by Bold Type Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-64503-669-2
OCLC Number:: 1191840698

(1 review)

Looting -- a crowd of people publicly, openly, and directly seizing goods -- is one of the more extreme actions that can take place in the midst of social unrest. Even self-identified radicals distance themselves from looters, fearing that violent tactics reflect badly on the broader movement.

But Vicky Osterweil argues that stealing goods and destroying property are direct, pragmatic strategies of wealth redistribution and improving life for the working class -- not to mention the brazen messages these methods send to the police and the state. All our beliefs about the innate righteousness of property and ownership, Osterweil explains, are built on the history of anti-Black, anti-Indigenous oppression.

From slave revolts to labor strikes to the modern-day movements for climate change, Black lives, and police abolition, Osterweil makes a convincing case for rioting and looting as weapons that bludgeon the status quo while uplifting the poor and marginalized. In …

Looting -- a crowd of people publicly, openly, and directly seizing goods -- is one of the more extreme actions that can take place in the midst of social unrest. Even self-identified radicals distance themselves from looters, fearing that violent tactics reflect badly on the broader movement.

But Vicky Osterweil argues that stealing goods and destroying property are direct, pragmatic strategies of wealth redistribution and improving life for the working class -- not to mention the brazen messages these methods send to the police and the state. All our beliefs about the innate righteousness of property and ownership, Osterweil explains, are built on the history of anti-Black, anti-Indigenous oppression.

From slave revolts to labor strikes to the modern-day movements for climate change, Black lives, and police abolition, Osterweil makes a convincing case for rioting and looting as weapons that bludgeon the status quo while uplifting the poor and marginalized. In Defense of Looting is a history of violent protest sparking social change, a compelling reframing of revolutionary activism, and a practical vision for a dramatically restructured society.

4 editions

Thom reviewed In Defense of Looting by Vicky Osterweil

Review of 'In Defense of Looting' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

The author equates looting and property destruction with Marxism, saying "without police
and without state oppression, we can have things for free" and also states that "Ownership of things" - not just people - is "innately, structurally white supremacist."

She continues to opine that nonviolent protest is "the product of a series of sellouts and silencings". The only partially valid point is that protest is usually ignored by the media, but looting is always reported.

I can say I read the first chapter, but then dropped this like drek immediately after. The author seems to be in hiding, with her tweets "protected" - I guess that's a type of "Ownership" she can get behind. My recommendation is avoid this book like something even worse than COVID-19.