Can I be cynical for a second?

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Conservative Christianity vs. Christianity

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Robin Hood and... Politics?

I found a thought provoking comment in my comment box-

My dad pointed out that [Robin Hood] is always "taking from the rich and giving to the poor," which is EXACTLY what liberalism and (in a more extreme sense) Communism do. I console myself by saying that it's more like the American Revolution-- Robin and his men are resisting a government gone bad. What do you think?

Robin Hood the socialist. Hmmmm. First off, in this post I'm referring to England and Nottingham according to how they are depicted in Robin-Hood related legends.

According to legend, Robin Hood's role in redistributing wealth is undeniable. That the local economy was in horrible condition is obvious. Robin does take from the rich and give to the poor.

However, I think that the figure of Robin Hood can be taken at more than one angle.

First, we see his potential communist side. When I think communism, I think of hard earned wealth being re-distributed to the ne'er-do-wells of society as a measure to make sure 'all are provided for.'

While I'm at it, I'll just pull out a formal definition of communism:

Communism. A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people. ~American Heritage Dictionary.

In which all goods are equally shared by the people. Does Robin Hood want all goods equally shared by the people?

Looking at legend once again-

The people of Nottingham were oppressed. They were impoverished. A very easy way to get them out of their impecunious positions would be to take money from those who had plenty and give it to those who had little. That's what Robin did, right? But the problem wasn't that simple. At its roots, it's obvious that the people who had plenty were the ones who were oppressing those who had little.

Robin-Hood-the-instrument-of-communism- would be told like this-

Lower class people of Nottingham have no money. Upper class people have lots of money. Robin steals from Upper class and gives to Lower class. All have enough.

Sounds fairly accurate, right? And according to my definition of communism, Robin would be taking the place of Government. Just sneak his name in there and we read:

Coomunism. A system of government in which Robin Hood plans and controls the economy and Robin Hood holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people.

Almost sounds like it would work, doesn't it? But let's take him at a "different angle" now, as I said earlier.

Unlike my definition (which made me laugh), legend doesn't tell us that Robin had any aspirations to rule. Robin Hood often appears as being anti-government. Why? No wonder! The government of his day was really skewed, with governing officials as wealthy men who:

a. Were on good terms with the present ruling monarch (Prince John)

or

b. Had noble blood and lots of land in the family.

This "Goverment" saw it fit to impose severe taxes on the people. One ballad (I'm going purely by memory here, sorry folks) goes something like this-

Th' hert an' soul were taxed out of them,

referring, of course, to the people of Nottingham. The ballad goes on to tell the classic tale of Robin robbing the rich and giving to the poor which could also be seen as robbing the government and giving to the people.

Simultaneously, the government was robbing the people and giving to... the government! With the government being Prince John and his nobles, of course.

Because he didn't like the way things were being run, Robin made himself anti-government. He was PRO the people earning money for themselves, choosing to fight the wealthy noblemen who interfered with the people's rights. Looking at my communist definition one more time, it appears that the government Robin was fighting was actually more communist in philosophy than he was (bold added by me, as before).

Communism. A system of government in which Prince John plans and controls the economy and he and his noblemen hold power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people while really hoarding all the wealth for themselves.

Wow... sadly, now I've depicted the current state of many communist countries. Wasn't originally trying for that...

Ahem. "My" off-hand definition of communism was. "Hard earned wealth being re-distributed to the ne'er-do-wells of society as a measure to make sure that 'all were provided for.'" We can plug this one in with Prince John's government, too. The hard earned wealth was that which rightfully belonged to the lower working class of Nottingham. The Ne'er-do-wells were Prince John and his nobles, who cared only to sit on cushions in their comfortable dwellings while others made their livelihood.

It's worth pointing out that it was originally a Nobleman's job to make sure all his serfs/laborers were provided for, but, just as in many modern day communist societies, it ended with the nobleman hoarding most of it for himself.

I asked earlier, "Does Robin Hood want all goods equally shared by the people?"

No. He wanted justice. He wanted to keep "all goods" that he, individually had rightfully earned and have every other man keep what goods he had rightfully earned. Robin wanted each man to be able to provide for his family without having his wages snatched from under him due to ridiculously high taxes.

He took back from the wealthy and gave his loot to those who had rightfully earned it.

Class distinctions kept the lower class from retrieving the money themselves and becoming involved in the workings of the government.

Prince John's government wasn't caring for the sick, innocent, helpless, or needy, so none of John's taxes were even going to the places the were supposed to go.

Hmmmm... Robin Hood the socialist? I don't think so.

Any more thoughts? This is a "Debate Time," so stop by the comment box...

Ballads were found in Robin Hood, a Mythic Biography.