ABSTRACT
In what terms is it justified to speak of ideology in the context of peasant uprisings? If the notion of ideology is defined (in the way it frequently is) as being a theoretically homogeneous body of views and ideas related to the social and political conditions upon which it intends to exercise a direct repercussion, this definition does not in all its particulars fit the programs of peasant movements. However, it is hard to make definitions conform neatly to historical reality. In truth, “ideological” elements of this kind—a set of idea-driven notions, value judgments and demands aimed at transforming society and the sphere of politics—can be found in all peasant movements, some of which are more or less shared between movements, next to others that are completely unique. Yet on the whole, as well as in all their manifestations, despite all their fragmentariness and structural looseness, these ideological elements form characteristic ideational structures whose main body may justifiably be called an ideology.
