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Revision as of 18:29, 31 August 2005 editRJII (talk | contribs)25,810 edits this is way off base. Proudhon did indeed support private property.← Previous edit Revision as of 18:30, 31 August 2005 edit undoRJII (talk | contribs)25,810 editsNo edit summaryNext 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. And, that is indeed the case for Prouhdon, because he also assered "Property is freedom!" According to Colin Ward , Proudhon did not see a contradiction between the two slogans. To the mutualist, this is the distinction between property created by government coercion and property created by labor and, in the case of land, by occupation or use (sometimes called "possession" by Proudhon). Taken at face value, "Property is theft!" appears to be an ], because theft, by definition, means depriving someone of his property. And, that is indeed the case for Prouhdon, because he also assered "Property is freedom!" To the mutualist, this is the distinction between property created by government coercion and property created by labor and, in the case of land, by occupation or use (sometimes called "possession" by Proudhon).


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 the 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." 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 the 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."

Revision as of 18:30, 31 August 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. And, that is indeed the case for Prouhdon, because he also assered "Property is freedom!" To the mutualist, this is the distinction between property created by government coercion and property created by labor and, in the case of land, by occupation or use (sometimes called "possession" by Proudhon).

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 the 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."


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