About
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, born in Besançon in 1809, was a French political thinker of working-class origin. Self-taught, he rose to prominence in 1840 with What Is Property?, where he declared that 'property is theft.' The first to openly call himself an anarchist, he developed mutualism, advocating workers' cooperatives and peaceful social reform. Elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1848, he was imprisoned for writings against Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte. A proponent of federalism, he deeply influenced anarchist and syndicalist movements. He died in Paris in 1865.
* 1809-01-15 — † 1865-01-19
Major works
- Qu'est-ce que la propriété ? (1840)essay
- Système des contradictions économiques ou Philosophie de la misère (1846)essay
- De la justice dans la révolution et dans l'Église (1858)essay
- Du principe fédératif (1863)essay
- De la capacité politique des classes ouvrières (1865)essay
Key milestones
- 1840Publication of What Is Property?, which made him famous.
- 1848Elected to the Constituent Assembly after the Revolution of 1848.
- 1849Imprisoned until 1852 for writings against Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte.
Themes
AnarchismMutualismFederalismCritique of propertySocial justice
Sources: britannica.com · oxfordreference.com