In Defense of Looting

{{Short description|Book by American author Vicky Osterweil}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}

{{Infobox book

| name = In Defense of Looting: A Riotous History of Uncivil Action

| author = Vicky Osterweil

| border = yes

| caption =

| language = English

| pub_date = August 20, 2020{{cite web|url=https://www.politics-prose.com/book/9781645036692 |title=In Defense of Looting: A Riotous History of Uncivil Action|publisher= Politics and Prose Bookstore|accessdate=2025-03-02}}

| publisher = Bold Type Books

| country = United States

| image = File:In_Defense_of_Looting.jpg

}}

In Defense of Looting: A Riotous History of Uncivil Action is a 2020 book authored by Vicky Osterweil and published by Bold Type Books.{{Cite news|last=Escobar|first=Natalie|date=2020-08-27|title=One Author's Controversial View: 'In Defense Of Looting'|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2020/08/27/906642178/one-authors-argument-in-defense-of-looting|access-date=2021-03-26}} Osterweil wrote the book in response to the Ferguson unrest in 2014 and 2015.{{Cite news|last=Fallon|first=Claire|date=2020-08-25|title=Are Looters Undermining The Movement — Or Creating It?|work=HuffPost|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/in-defense-of-looting-vicky-osterweil_n_5f43eb88c5b6c00d03b24525|access-date=2021-03-26}}

In the book, Osterweil argues that looting is a valid method of wealth redistribution.{{Cite magazine|last=Chotiner|first=Isaac|date=2020-09-03|title=Examining Vicky Osterweil's Case for Looting|magazine=The New Yorker|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/vicky-osterweils-case-for-looting|access-date=2021-03-26}}

Osterweil denounces nonviolent resistance; she argues that, when non-violence is "pushed as a philosophical, moral, or religious principle, it gains a nasty, authoritarian edge." She also denounces local politicians and political groups who advocate for limiting looting during popular rebellion.