CHISM, the theory that coercive government or the
STATEshould be abolished. Proudhon was for the most
part self-educated, teaching himself Hebrew, Greek,
and Latin, although he briefly attended the college in
Besançon. Trained as a printer and compositor, Proud-
hon developed strong skills as a writer, which eventu-
ally enabled him to win a scholarship to study in Paris
from the Besançon Academy in 1838. While working
as a printer in Besançon, Proudhon met Charles
FOURIER, whose ideas of utopian SOCIALISM were to
influence Proudhon’s political philosophy. In Paris,
Proudhon devoted his time to studying and to writing
his first significant book, What Is Property?(1840). In
this work, Proudhon not only identified himself as an
anarchist, but he also famously declared that “Property
is theft!” By this, Proudhon meant that the institution
of private PROPERTY under CAPITALISM allows the
wealthy few to exploit the labor of the poor masses. In
this way, property becomes treated as an exclusive
privilege that can be used to engender widespread
inequality.
Despite Proudhon’s critique of property under the
capitalist system, he was also critical of the doctrines
of COMMUNISM. While capitalism destroys equality,
communism, Proudhon argued, negates LIBERTY
because communism advocates the need for a strong,
centralized state and economy. In doing so, Proudhon
suggested, it dismisses claims to individual liberty. In
particular, a communist state would not recognize
what Proudhon referred to as “possession,” the right of
a worker or group of workers to control the land and
tools required for production. For Proudhon, it was
most important to protect the individual’s control over
the means of production and thereby preserve the
individual’s independence or liberty.
In contrast to capitalism and communism, Proud-
hon articulated a theory of anarchism called mutual-
ism. Proudhon’s social theory is based on a model of
decentralized FEDERALISMin which social organization
would consist of a federal system of autonomous local
communities and industrial associations bound by “a
system of contracts” rather than by a “system of laws.”
The mutualist society envisioned by Proudhon would
function through the formation of free contracts based
on the recognition of mutual interests. This, Proudhon
insisted, would maintain workers’ autonomy and avoid
the dangers of a rigid, bureaucratic AUTHORITY. To pro-
mote the development of mutualism, Proudhon main-
tained that working-class credit associations must be
created worldwide that would help keep economic
power in the hands of workers and foster liberation
from control by the government. Proudhon unsuccess-
fully attempted to organize a “people’s bank” following
his election to the constituent assembly of the Second
Republic in June 1848.
In 1849 Proudhon was imprisoned for criticizing
the authoritarian tendencies of the new government,
especially of Louis-Napoleon (Napoleon III). He spent
his three-year prison term writing several books and
expanding on his notion of a world federation that
would replace the divisive nationalism of sovereign
states. After being sentenced to prison again in 1858,
Proudhon fled to Belgium, where he remained until- He spent the final years of his life in Paris, com-
pleting his last works.
Further Reading
Woodcock, G. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon: A Biography.London:
Routledge, 1956.Pufendorf, Samuel (1632–1694) German phi-
losopher and juristBorn in Saxony, Pufendorf was the son of a Lutheran
pastor. He first studied theology at the University of
Leipzig but soon became interested in philosophy, his-
tory, and jurisprudence. In 1656, Pufendorf went to
the University of Jena where he continued his study of
philosophy and law, especially the works of Hugo
GROTIUS and Thomas HOBBES. He then acquired the
position of tutor to the son of the Swedish ambassador
in Denmark. However, because of a war between Swe-
den and Denmark, Pufendorf was arrested and impris-
oned for six months. During his imprisonment,
Pufendorf wrote his first book, Elements of Universal
Jurisprudence,published in 1660. After returning to
Germany, Pufendorf was appointed to the professor-
ship in natural and international law at the University
of Heidelberg, a position he held until 1668. He spent
the next eight years as a professor at Lund in Sweden,
where he completed his On the Law of Nature and of
Nations(1672). This book was followed the next year
by his On the Duty of Man and Citizen,a shorter and
widely successful version of On the Law of Nature and
of Nations,which was used as a standard textbook by
students of NATURAL LAWthroughout Europe and the
American colonies. Pufendorf spent his final years as
court historian to both the king of Stockholm
(1677–88) and the elector of Brandenburg (1688–94).246 Pufendorf, Samuel