System of Economical Contradictions: Or, the Philosophy of Misery

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865) was a French mutualist political philosopher of the socialist tradition. He was the first individual to call himself an "anarchist" and is considered among the first anarchist thinkers. Proudhon is most famous for his assertion that "Property is theft!," in What is Property?; or, An Inquiry into the Principle of Right and Government. The publication of What is Property? attracted the attention of the French authorities, and also of Karl Marx who started up...