The Bicycle Thief

According to contemporary sources...


It's a rather simple story. The guy's bicycle - a job essential - gets stolen, so he goes around searching for it. After a failed search, he then attempts to steal a bicycle to keep his job. He gets caught and is humiliated in front of his son, and the story ends there.

I disagree with the conclusion that the main character is on equal moral grounds with the thief.
The effect of an action is not all that there is to be judged - one must include the intention, for the intention is a large determinant of the individual's probability to repeat the act in question.

In this case, it would be prudent to say that the main character stands on morally superior grounds if only in the realm of intention, for he did it to keep his job and feed his son. But then again, the original bicycle thief could have similar reasons for stealing it in the first place. Hmm.

One can never be too sure.