Abstract
Theorists should read non-traditional forms of political agency alongside the American left’s failure to counter liberal hegemony. According to Žižek, the current ideological deadlock requires unconventional approaches to political action. His notion of the Act represents one of the most original methods for identifying alternative types of political agency. The Act is often violent and not only transgresses symbolic norms, but reconfigures our understandings of legitimate political behavior. Linking acts of social banditry to his theory illustrates how the outlaw represents a sign of political resistance. Acts of social criminality, for example, take on political significance when undermining the regime’s hegemonic narrative. Instead of reading acts of banditry as isolated incidents of criminal behavior, political movements may interpret the acts as signifying larger struggles over public space and resource distribution. Using Billy the Kid and Pretty Boy Floyd as case studies, the article examines how conditions of uneven economic development produce non-traditional political actors. Subsequently, the article provides a framework for future research on the political significance of social criminality.
