Pierre-Joseph Proudhon | |
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 Portrait by Gustave Courbet, 1865 | |
| Born | 15 January 1809 |
| Died | 19 January 1865 (aged 56) |
| Era | 19th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
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| Part of a series on |
| Anarchism |
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Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (UK: /ˈpruːdɒ̃/,[1] US: /pruːˈdɒ̃, pruːˈdoʊn/; French: [pjɛʁ ʒozɛf pʁudɔ̃]; 15 January 1809 – 19 January 1865) was a French anarchist, socialist, philosopher, and economist who founded mutualist philosophy and is considered by many to be the "father of anarchism".[2] He was the first person to call himself an anarchist,[3][4] using that term, and is widely regarded as one of anarchism's most influential theorists. Proudhon became a member of the French Parliament after the Revolution of 1848, whereafter he referred to himself as a federalist.[5] Proudhon described the liberty he pursued as the synthesis of community and individualism. Some consider his mutualism to be part of individualist anarchism[6][7] while others regard it to be part of social anarchism.[8][9][10]
Proudhon, who was born in Besançon, was a printer who taught himself Latin in order to better print books in the language. His best-known assertion is that "property is theft!", contained in his first major work, What Is Property? Or, an Inquiry into the Principle of Right and Government (Qu'est-ce que la propriété? Recherche sur le principe du droit et du gouvernement), published in 1840. The book's publication attracted the attention of the French authorities. It also attracted the scrutiny of Karl Marx, who started a correspondence with its author. The two influenced each other and they met in Paris while Marx was exiled there. Their friendship finally ended when Marx responded to Proudhon's The System of Economic Contradictions, or The Philosophy of Poverty with the provocatively titled The Poverty of Philosophy. The dispute became one of the sources of the split between the anarchist and Marxist wings of the International Working Men's Association. Some such as Edmund Wilson have contended that Marx's attack on Proudhon had its origin in the latter's defense of Karl Grün, whom Marx bitterly disliked, but who had been preparing translations of Proudhon's work.[11][12][13]
Proudhon favored workers' councils and associations or cooperatives as well as individual worker/peasant possession over private ownership or the nationalization of land and workplaces. He considered social revolution to be achievable in a peaceful manner. Proudhon unsuccessfully tried to create a national bank, to be funded by what became an abortive attempt at an income tax on capitalists and shareholders. Similar in some respects to a credit union, it would have given interest-free loans.[14] After the death of his follower Mikhail Bakunin, Proudhon's libertarian socialism diverged into individualist anarchism, collectivist anarchism, anarcho-communism and anarcho-syndicalism, with notable proponents such as Carlo Cafiero, Joseph Déjacque, Peter Kropotkin and Benjamin Tucker.[10]
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.
- ^ Guérin, Daniel (1989) [1970]. Anarchism: From Theory to Practice. New York: Monthly Review Press. ISBN 9780853451754.
- ^ Merriman, John M. (2009). How a Bombing in Fin-de-Siècle Paris Ignited the Age of Modern Terror. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 42. ISBN 9780300217933.
- ^ Leier, Mark (2006). Bakunin: The Creative Passion. New York: Seven Stories Press. p. 211. ISBN 9781583228944.
- ^ Binkley, Robert C. (1963) [1935]. Realism and Nationalism 1852–1871. Read Books. p. 118.
- ^ Faguet, Émile (1970). Politicians & Moralists of the Nineteenth Century. Freeport: Books for Libraries Press. p. 147. ISBN 0836918282.
- ^ Hamilton, Peter (1995). Émile Durkheim. New York: Routledge. p. 79. ISBN 0415110475.
- ^ Knowles, Rob (Winter 2000). "Political Economy from Below: Communitarian Anarchism as a Neglected Discourse in Histories of Economic Thought". History of Economics Review. 31 (1): 30–47. doi:10.1080/10370196.2000.11733332
- ^ Bowen, James; Purkis, Jonathan (2004). Changing Anarchism: Anarchist Theory and Practice in a Global Age. Manchester University Press. p. 24. ISBN 9780719066948.
- ^ a b The Anarchist FAQ Collective; McKay, Ian, ed. (2008/2012). An Anarchist Faq. I/II. Oakland/Edinburgh: AK Press. ISBN 9781902593906, 9781849351225. OCLC 182529204.
- ^ Hoffman, Robert (May 1967). "Marx and Proudhon: A Reappraisal of Their Relationship". The Historian. London: Taylor & Francis. 29 (3): 409–430. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.1967.tb01785.x. JSTOR 24442608.
- ^ Leonard, John (27 September 1979). "Books of the Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ McKay, Iain, ed. (2011). Property is Theft! A Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Anthology (illustrated revised ed). "Introduction: General Idea of the Revolution in the 21st Century". "Proudhon and Marx". Oakland: AK Press. ISBN 9781849350242. Retrieved 27 September via Anarchist Writers.
- ^ Alger, Abby Langdon; Martin, Henri (1877). A Popular History of France from the First Revolution to the Present Time. D. Estes and C. E. Lauria. p. 189.