Terrorism is spearheaded by advantaged radicals, not the desperately poor

Evidence

If terrorism is to be defeated worldwide, societies must address the life conditions that drive people to take up deadly terroristic missions. This is a daunting challenge not amenable to quick fixes. More advantaged individuals who have been alienated and radicalized by embittering experiences in their efforts to promote the social changes they desire usually spearhead militant activism (Bandura, 1973; Sprinzak, 1990). In cultural milieus that hail suicide bombers as gaining blessed martyrdom, this mode of terrorism is institutionally embraced and socially applauded as divine retribution for the humiliation and suffering inflicted by the enemy (Lelyveld, 2001). Educational development with opportunities for a desired livelihood provide the best escape from poverty and cultivate national advancement in the social and economic challenges modern societies face. These personal and social resources enable individuals to find meaning and satisfaction in modern life. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2502

Categorization

• SEED: Article angle: the ‘terrorist profile’ myth — leaders of militant movements are usually educated, advantaged idealists, not desperate poor; what actually matters is embitterment from blocked social-change efforts.
• XREF: Connects to The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, whose protagonist is an educated, advantaged Princeton graduate radicalized by personal and political embitterment rather than material poverty.
• DEFINE: Clarifies the mechanism of radicalization as alienation from thwarted aspirations plus a cultural milieu that blesses martyrdom, contra the common poverty-explains-terrorism assumption.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2502