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Property. Proudhon THE WORKS OF P J. PROUDHON. VOLUME I. WHAT IS PROPERTY? anti Soto bg BENJ. R. TUCKER, PRINCETON, MASS. 1876. I W hat is P r o p e r t y ? FIRST MEMOIR. AN INQUIRY INTO THE PRINCIPLE OF RIGHT AND OF GOVERNMENT. BY P. J. PROUDHON. Adversus hosiem aeterna auctoritas esto. Against the enemy, revendication is eternal. Law o f ikt T w lvr Tables. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY BENJ. R. TUCKER. anti S o ft bg BENJ. R. TUCKER, PRINCETON, MASS. 1876. Cambridge: Press of John Wilson &* Soti. \ CONTENTS. Page. P. J. P ro u d h o n : H is Life an d his W o r k s ................................. ix P r e p a c e ..................................................................................................... i FIRST MEMOIR. , CHAPTER I. I M ethod pu r su e d in this W o r k . — T he Id e a of a R evolu- I T I O N ..................................................................................................... II 1 CHAPTER II. ■ P r o pe rt y considered a s a Na t u r a l R ight. — O ccupation I an d Civ il La w a s E fficient B a se s of P r o pe rt y. — D e f- I in it io n s....................................................................................................... 42 I § 1. Property as a Natural R i g h t ................................................. 44 I § 2. Occupation as the Title to P rop erty....................................... 54 § 3* Civil Law as the Foundation and Sanction of Property . 70 £ i CHAPTER III. I Labo r a s the Efficient Ca u se of the D omain of P ro pe rty 84 I § 1. The Land cannot be a p p ro p ria ted ........................................88 P § 2. Universal Consent no Justification of Property....................93 - 1 ' / Vi CONTENTS. § 3. Prescription gives no Title to Property...................................94 ^ § 4. Labor. — That Labor has no Inherent Power to appropriate Natural W e a lth ..................................................................... 103 § 5. That Labor leads to Equality of Property..............................110 *§ 6. That in Society all Wages are E q u a l ...................................121 § 7. That Inequality of Powers is the Necessary Condition of Equality of Fortunes........................................................... 128 ' § 8. That, from the stand-point of Justice, Labor destroys Prop­ erty .........................................................................................148 CHAPTER IV. T h a t P r o p e r t y is I m p o s s i b l e ............................................................ 151 D emonstration . A x io m . Property is the Right of Increase claimed by the Proprietor over any thing which he has stamped as his ow n....................153 F ir s t P r o p o s it i o n . Property is Impossible, because it demands Something for N oth in g.........................................................................................159 S e c o n d P r o p o s it i o n . Property is Impossible, because, wherever it exists, Production costs more than it is w o r t h ...................................................... 168 T h ir d P r o p o s it i o n . Property is Impossible, because, with a given Capital, Produc­ tion is proportional to Labor, not to Property.........................172 F o u r t h P r o p o s it i o n . Property is Impossible, because it is H om icide.........................177 F i f t h P r o p o s it i o n . Property is Impossible, because, if it exists, Society devours i t s e l f ..............................................................................................183 Appendix to the Fifth Proposition................................................. 195 S ix t h P r o p o s i t i o n . Property is Impossible, because it is the Mother of Tyranny . 207 S e v e n t h P r o p o s it i o n . Property is Impossible, because, in consuming its Receipts, it loses them ; in hoarding them, it nullifies them ; and, in using them as Capital, it turns them against Production . 209 CONTENTS. v ii E ighth P roposition. Property is Impossible, because its Power of Accumulation is infinite, and is exercised only over Finite Quantities . 215 N inth P roposition. Property is Impossible, because it is powerless against Prop­ erty ..............................................................................................217 T enth P roposition . Property is Impossible, because it is the Negation of Equality 222 CHAPTER V. P sychological E xposition of the Id ea of J ustice and In­ ju st ic e , and a D etermination of the P rin ciple of G overnment an d of R ig h t .......................................................224 P a r t I. § 1. Of the Moral Sense in Man and the A n im a ls .................... 224 § 2j Of the First and Second Degrees of Sociability .... 230 § 3. Of the Third Degree of Sociability........................................238 P a r t II. § 1. Of the Causes of our Mistakes. The Origin of Property . 250 § 2. Characteristics of Communism and of Property .... 259 § 3. Determination of the Third Form of Society. Conclusion. 280 SECOND MEMOIR. ^ Letter to M. B la n q u i o n P r o p e r t y ............................................291 / / / P. J. PROUDHON: HIS LIFE AND HIS WORKS. correspondence1 of P. J. Proudhon, the first volumes of which we publish to-day, has been collected since his death by the faithful and intelligent labors of his daugh­ ter, aided by a few friends. It was incomplete when submit­ ted to Sainte Beuve, but the portion with which the illustrious academician became acquainted was sufficient to allow him to estimate it as a whole with that soundness of judgment which characterized him as a literary critic. In an important work, which his habitual readers certainly have not forgotten, although death did not allow him to finish it, Sainte Beuve thus judges the correspondence of the great publicist: — “ The letters of Proudhon, even outside the circle of his particular friends, will always be of value; we can always learn something from them, and here is the proper place to determine the general character of his correspondence. 1 In the French edition of Proudhon’s works, the above sketch of his life is prefixed to the first volume of his correspondence, but the translator prefers to insert it here as the best method of introducing the author to the American public. He would, however, caution readers against accepting the biographer’s interpretation of the author’s views as in any sense authoritative; advising them, rather, to await the publication of the remainder of Proudhon’s writings, that they may form an opinion for themselves.— Translator. X P. J. PROUDHON. “ It has always been large, especially since he became so celebrated ; and, to tell the truth, I am persuaded that, in the future, the correspond­ ence of Proudhon will be his principal, vital work, and that most of his books will be only accessory to and corroborative of this. At any rate, his books can be well understood only by the aid of his letters and the continual explanations which he makes to those who consult him in their doubt, and request him to define more clearly his position. “ There are, among celebrated people, many methods of correspond­ ence. There are those to whom letter-writing is a bore, and who, assailed with questions and compliments, reply in the greatest haste, solely that the job may be over with, and who return politeness for polite­ ness, mingling it with more or less wit. This kind of correspondence, though coming from celebrated people, is insignificant and unworthy of collection and classification. “ After those who write letters in performance of a disagreeable duty, and almost side by side with them in point of insignificance, I should put those who write in a manner wholly external, wholly superficia*, devoted only to flattery, lavishing praise like gold, without counting i t ; ana those also who weigh every word, who reply formally and pompously, with a view to fine phrases and effects. They exchange words only, and choose them solely for their brilliancy and show. You think it is you, indi­ vidually, to whom they speak ; but they are addressing themselves in your person to the four corners of Europe. Such letters are empty, and teach us nothing but theatrical execution and the favorite pose of their writers. “ I will not class among the latter the more prudent and sagacious authors who, when writing to individuals, keep one eye on posterity. We know that many who pursue this method have written long, finished) charming, flattering, and tolerably natural letters. Beranger furnishes us with the best example of this class. “ Proudhon, however, is a man of entirely different nature and habits. In writing, he thinks of nothing but his idea and the person whom he ad­ dresses : ad rem et ad hominem. A man of conviction and doctrine, to write does not weary him : to be questioned does not annoy him. When approached, he cares only to know that your motive is not one of futile curiosity, but the love of truth; he assumes you to be serious, he replies, he examines your objections, sometimes verbally, sometimes in writing; for, as he remarks, ‘ if there be some points which correspondence can never settle, but which can be made clear by conversation in two minutes, at other times just the opposite is the case : an objection clearly stated in writing, a doubt well expressed, which elicits a direct and positive reply, helps things along more than ten hours of oral inter­ HIS LIFE AND WORKS. x i course! ’ In writing to you, he does not hesitate to treat the subject anew; he unfolds to you the foundation and superstructure of his thought; rarely does he confess himself defeated — it is not his w ay; he holds to his position, but admits the breaks, the variations, in short, the evolution of his mind.
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