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Quote by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

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Property is Theft!: A Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Anthology

Property is Theft! is a collection of essays and treatises by the French philosopher Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. The book delves into Proudhon's ideas on property, labor, and the social order, offering a comprehensive look at his political philosophy. It includes seminal works such as 'What is Property?' and 'The Philosophy of Poverty', showcasing Proudhon's unique perspective on economic and social issues. more

Author

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865) was a French political philosopher, writer, and considered the father of modern anarchism. In 1840, he published "What is Property?" where he famously declared "property is theft," which profoundly influenced socialist and anarchist thought. Proudhon advocated mutualism, opposed capitalist exploitation and state authority, and significantly influenced thinkers like Karl Marx and Mikhail Bakunin. His works including "The Philosophy of Poverty" remain important texts in political philosophy and social theory. more

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“The capitalist mode of production and accumulation, and therefore capitalist private property, have for their fundamental condition the annihilation of self-earned private property: in other words, the expropriation of the labourer.”

“Cultivation is at least one of the greatest natural improvements ever made by human invention. It has given to created earth a tenfold value. But the landed monopoly that began with it has produced the greatest evil. It has dispossessed more than half the inhabitants of every nation of their natural inheritance, without providing for them, as ought to have been done, an indemnification for that loss, and has thereby created a species of poverty and wretchedness that did not exist before.”