Occasional thieves. Border practices between the world of crime and work. Chile, 1900-1928

Abstract

The article proposes a dialogue between the world of work and crime based on two historical experiences in the transition from the 19th to the 20th century. First, the adoption of criminological premises associated with labor discipline and, second, the (re)production of wage-earning habits in prison worshops. Through the review of press and the police publication, it suggests that the actions of the occasional thief were expressive of the fragility of the labor structure, a situation that allowed him to move between formal occupations and practices that border on illegality or were openly criminal.