A joke that [[Slavoj Žižek]] uses at various times to describe [[systemic violence]]. (He uses the term "objective" violence.) It is, in a sense, similar to [[Brecht's founding of a bank joke]]. ###### From [[The Parallax View (2006)]]: > "The general methodological guideline that imposes itself from these observations can be best exemplified by the old story about a worker suspected of stealing: every evening, when he left the factory, the wheelbarrow he rolled in front of him was carefully inspected, but the guards did not find anything inside, it was always empty — until, finally, they got the point: what the worker was stealing were the wheelbarrows themselves" (Parallax View, pp. 377-378) ###### From [[Violence (2008)]]: > "There is an old story about a worker suspected of stealing: every evening, as he leaves the factory, the wheelbarrow he rolls in front of him is carefully inspected. The guards can find nothing. It is always empty. Finally, the penny drops: what the worker is stealing are the wheelbarrows themselves . . . ([[Violence (2008)|Violence]], p. 1) ^e8c194 ###### See Also See also [[Fargo (tv show)]], season 2, where Mike Milligan uses the joke: <p style="text-align:center;"> <iframe border=0 frameborder=0 width=550 height=520 src="https://twitframe.com/show?url=https://twitter.com/refinedrobot/status/1145017142871568384"></iframe></p>