| Revision as of 00:43, 3 September 2005 editCadr (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users3,444 editsNo edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 20:04, 28 October 2005 edit undoRevkat (talk | contribs)261 edits This text was changed and cited another text not written by Proudhon and in which he was not even directly quoted, thus it has become mostly third-part heresayNext edit → | ||
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| '''Property is theft!''' is a slogan coined by the ] ] ] in his book '']''. | '''Property is theft!''' is a slogan coined by the ] ] ] in his book '']''. | ||
| Taken at face value, "Property is theft!" appears to be an ], because theft, by definition, means depriving someone of his property. |
Taken at face value, "Property is theft!" appears to be an ], because theft, by definition, means depriving someone of his property. However, what Proudhon meant with the slogan was that (private) property is ''illegitimate'' - that there is no moral justification for the existence of private property, and that private property therefore represents a sort of "theft" from the common property of all mankind. | ||
| In his analysis of property Proudhon distinguished two forms. One, which was based in title and confered absolute dominion, he believed was detrimental to society, "Property is impossible, because, if it exists, Society devours itself." Thus Proudhon objected to such institutions as the charging of interest, rent, or any profit generated on the part of a proprietor who did not directly labor with the property in question. The other, which he commonly refered to as possession, was based instead on labor and occupation, which Proudhon felt in turn would obstruct and destroy property if such rights were consistently applied. | |||
| Property is theft "when it is related to a landowner or capitalist whose ownership is derived from conquest or exploitation and only maintained through the state, property laws, police, and an army". Property is freedom for "the peasant or artisan family a natural right to a home, land cultivate, to tools of a trade", and the fruits of that cultivation - but not to ownership or control of the lands and lives of others. The former is considered illegitimate property, the latter legitimate property. Proudhon believed that individual property rights were essential to liberty. He says: "Where shall we find a power capable of counter-balancing the... State? There is none other than property... The absolute right of the State is in conflict with the absolute right of the property owner. Property is the greatest revolutionary force which exists." | |||
| Proudhon used the term ] to describe his vision of a society where individuals and democratic workers associations could trade their produce on the market. In this system, he supposes exchange value to be determined by the amount of labor required to produce a commodity, in line with the ]. | Proudhon used the term ] to describe his vision of a society where individuals and democratic workers associations could trade their produce on the market. In this system, he supposes exchange value to be determined by the amount of labor required to produce a commodity, in line with the ]. | ||
Revision as of 20:04, 28 October 2005
Property is theft! is a slogan coined by the French anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon in his book What is Property? Or, an Inquiry into the Principle of Right of Government.
Taken at face value, "Property is theft!" appears to be an oxymoron, because theft, by definition, means depriving someone of his property. However, what Proudhon meant with the slogan was that (private) property is illegitimate - that there is no moral justification for the existence of private property, and that private property therefore represents a sort of "theft" from the common property of all mankind.
In his analysis of property Proudhon distinguished two forms. One, which was based in title and confered absolute dominion, he believed was detrimental to society, "Property is impossible, because, if it exists, Society devours itself." Thus Proudhon objected to such institutions as the charging of interest, rent, or any profit generated on the part of a proprietor who did not directly labor with the property in question. The other, which he commonly refered to as possession, was based instead on labor and occupation, which Proudhon felt in turn would obstruct and destroy property if such rights were consistently applied.
Proudhon used the term mutualism to describe his vision of a society where individuals and democratic workers associations could trade their produce on the market. In this system, he supposes exchange value to be determined by the amount of labor required to produce a commodity, in line with the labor theory of value.
See also
- Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
- Mutualism (economic theory)
- Libertarian socialism
- Property
- Private property
- What is Property?