“The point about social bandits is that they are peasant outlaws whom the lord and state regard as criminals, but who remain within peasant society, and are considered by their people as heroes, as champions, avengers, fighters for justice, perhaps even leaders of liberation, and in any case as men to be admired, helped and supported.”

— Eric Hobsbawm

Source: Bandits (1969), Chapter One, What is Social Banditry

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Eric Hobsbawm 47

British academic historian and Marxist historiographer 1917–2012

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“Translation:In many places, bandits had begun to infiltrate peasants movement, gradually bandits directly are helping the peasant's struggle, this is a fact that we communist party members should be aware of the relationship between party members and bandits. We(communist party members) should infiltrate among the bandits…. we can organize them into the struggle of revolution.”

Wang Ming (1904–1974) Chinese politician

“These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.”

Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)

Speech at Pointe du Hoc on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1984/60684a.htm (6 June 1984)
1980s, First term of office (1981–1985)

“The peasant must always be helped technically, economically, morally, and culturally. The guerrilla fighter will be a sort of guiding angel who has fallen into the zone, helping the poor always.”

Ernesto Che Guevara book Guerrilla Warfare

Source: Guerrilla Warfare (1961), Ch. II: 1. The Guerrilla Fighter: Social Reformer

“About three million must be regarded as middle peasants, while barely two million consist of kulaks, rich peasants, grain profiteers… Ruthless war on the kulaks! Death to them! … [Class struggle entails] ruthless suppression of the kulaks, those bloodsuckers, vampires, plunderers of the people and profiteers, who batten on famine.”

Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) Russian politician, led the October Revolution

As quoted in Comrade Workers, Forward To The Last, Decisive Fight! Collected Works, Vol. 28, pages 53-7.
Attributions

“Socialism is a creed of the state. It regards ordinary human beings as the raw material for its schemes of social change. But we put our faith in people—in the millions of people who spend what they earn—not what other people earn. Who make sacrifices for their young family or their elderly parents. Who help their neighbours and take care of their neighbourhoods. The sort of people I grew up with. These are the people whom I became Leader of this Party to defend.”

Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) British stateswoman and politician

Speech to the Conservative Central Council in Cheltenham (31 March 1990) https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/108051
Third term as Prime Minister

“Who keeps the tavern and serves up the drinks? The peasant. Who squanders and drinks up money belonging to the peasant commune, the school, the church? The peasant. Who would steal from his neighbor, commit arson, and falsely denounce another for a bottle of vodka? The peasant.”

Anton Chekhov book Peasants

Peasants (1897)

“The Poor Peasants’ Committees are necessary to fight the kulaks, the rich, the exploiters, who shackle the working peasants. But between the kulaks, who are a small minority, and the poor or semi-proletarians there is the section of the middle peasants. The Soviet government has never declared or conducted any struggle against them. Any steps or measures to the contrary must be condemned most vigorously and stopped. The socialist government must pursue a policy of agreement with the middle peasants.”

Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) Russian politician, led the October Revolution

"Draft of a Telegram to all Soviets of Deputies Concerning the Worker-Peasant Alliance" (16 August 1918) http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1918/aug/16.htm; Collected Works, Vol. 28.
1910s

“Every peasant has a lawyer inside of him, just as every lawyer, no matter how urbane he may be, carries a peasant within himself.”

Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936) 19th-20th century Spanish writer and philosopher

Civilization is Civilism

“The unfortunate peasants who were incapable of discharging the demand of their rapacious lords, were bereft of their children who were carried away as slaves.”

François Bernier (1620–1688) French physician and traveller

François Bernier, quoted from Lal, K. S. (1999). Theory and practice of Muslim state in India. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan. Chapter 4
Travels in the Mogul Empire (1656-1668)

“The future belongs to the peasants and workers…India cannot remain unaffected by these winds of change…Who had suspected before the Resolution the tremendous might of the exploited peoples of Russia.”

Premchand (1880–1936) Hindi writer

After he published the Hindi novel in which the theme was about the oppressed and exploited Indian peasant quoted in [Anupa Lal, Munshi Premchand: The Voice of Truth, http://books.google.com/books?id=fTK-023B_wkC&pg=PA1900, 2002, Rupa, 978-81-7167-994-2, 1917]

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Eric Hobsbawm 47

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