What Is Property?
Also known as Qu'est-ce que la propriété? Recherche sur le principe du droit et du gouvernement, What Is Property? Or, an Inquiry into the Principle of Right and Government
Proudhon's 1840 attack on property in land and capital, the source of "property is theft!"
At a glance
Key ideas
Property is theft, Order without a master, A third form of society …
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Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and Karl Marx
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- Proudhon's first major work argues that property in land and capital lets owners take what others produce.
- Its best-known line is "property is theft!".
- In it he also defines anarchy as "the absence of a master, of a sovereign".
- He rejects both communism and private property and looks for a third form of society that combines them, which he calls liberty.
Why it matters
- It drew the attention of the French authorities and of the young Karl Marx, who in 1865 called it "epoch-making"; it is a founding text of anarchism.
Key facts
- Author
- Pierre-Joseph Proudhon1
- Published
- 18401
- Original language
- French1
- Reaction
- Drew the attention of the French authorities; Marx began corresponding with Proudhon after reading it1
- Influence on Marx
- It convinced the young Marx that private property should be abolished1
Key ideas
-
Property is theft1
The landowner or capitalist "steals" the profits of those who do the work.
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Order without a master1
Anarchy is "the absence of a master, of a sovereign"; "society seeks order in anarchy".
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A third form of society1
"The synthesis of communism and property, we will call liberty."
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Land is a common thing1
Land is indispensable to existence, so it cannot be appropriated by anyone.
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Product versus means1
"The right to product is exclusive" but "the right to means is common".
Connections
Links
Sources
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