This is an old revision of this page, as edited by RJII (talk | contribs) at 18:46, 31 August 2005 (removed links to communism and libertarian socialism. Proudhon opposed communism explicitly. Put in link to mutualism, etc.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 18:46, 31 August 2005 by RJII (talk | contribs) (removed links to communism and libertarian socialism. Proudhon opposed communism explicitly. Put in link to mutualism, etc.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)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 asserted "Property is freedom!" 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 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."
The economic system theorized by Proudhon where individuals may trade their private property is called mutualism. In this system, exchange value is determined by the amount of labor required to produce a commodity.