Social perception and legal treatment of offenses out of necessity
Social perception and legal treatment of offenses out of necessity

Author(s): Dragica Čeč
Subject(s): History of Law, Criminal Law, Criminology, 19th Century, Penal Policy
Published by: Hrvatski institut za povijest
Keywords: thefts by necessity; Higher Criminal Court in Klagenfurt (Appellations- und Kriminal- Obergericht); subsistence crises; collective fear; Habsburg Monarchy;
Summary/Abstract: Most scientific research dealing with the topic of minor offenses out of necessity follow either Thompson’s idea of collective and organized moral economy of the (working class) masses, thus focusing on the revolt of the hungry, a characteristic of urban settings (of England and France). In political settings where the urban daily routine was not determined by the revolts of the hungry, the majority of research focuses on the mythicized forms of unorganized social rebel, living on the edge of society. The scope of this article is limited to the phenomenon of (minor) theft in times of hardship by linking both older theoretical concepts and significantly complementing them especially when addressing the issue of individual and collective perception of crimes (offenses) by necessity.

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