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Proudhonian consistency

January 14, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur

I was amused to find that Proudhon’s first published article in 1839 begins with the following: “Is a universal alphabet possible? “If it is possible, is it practicable in the study and common usage of language? “Yes, a universal alphabet is possible, and I believe that possibility is demonstrated by the work that I am about to analyze. “No, that universal alphabet is not practicable and never will be, outside of some phonological comparisons and some literal connections. As the last proposition is a sort of negation of the preceding one, I must engage in some clarifications on the subject, […]

More Molinari, etc.

January 11, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur

Roderick Long has translated another pair of texts, both relating to Gustave de Molinari’s Soirées on the Rue Saint-Lazare: Charles Coquelin’s review of the work, and “Question of the Limits of State Action and Individual Action Discussed at the Society of Political Economy,” a summary of a related discussion, published in the Journal des Économistes. Roderick’s blog posts give useful context.

The Theory of Property, Chapter VIII

January 11, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur

Of the chapters from Proudhon’s The Theory of Property which have not yet appeared in translation, the first is the Introduction compiled by Proudhon’s friends, which surveyed his previous works; the third, fourth and fifth chapters amount to a summing up of Proudhon’s scattered thoughts on the varieties of property, legal opinions on the subject, and the history of property. All of these contain interesting material, including the data on which the New Theory was constructed. But arguably the most interesting of the remaining chapters are the seventh, which explains in some detail the “equilibration” of property, and the eighth, […]

P.-J. Proudhon, The Philosophy of Progress (1853)

January 8, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur

It’s coming up on three years since I completed my initial working translation of Proudhon’s The Philosophy of Progress. In that time, I’ve subjected the text to three rather complete revisions, and various more minor adjustments. The result is a new edition of the New Proudhon Library volume, which I’ll be releasing as Corvus Editions’ first offset-printed release in the near future. Details of the release are coming together, but it looks like it will be something about midway between previous pamphlets and my hand-bound hardcover editions, with a heavy cover made from repurposed materials. In the meantime, the text […]

“Theory of Property” controversies

January 5, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur

In the interest of covering as many of the bases as possible, relating to The Theory of Property, and Proudhon’s posthumous works in general, I’ve spent some time this week exploring the debates within Proudhon’s circle specifically concerning The Theory of Property. A key exchange appeared in La Presse, in November 1865, initially pitting J. A. Langlois and Georges Duchêne against Alfred Darimon, over the question of the style and extent of the editing in the posthumous works. Abraam Rolland and Gustave Chaudey expressed themselves in disagreement with Langlois and Duchêne on the most appropriate form for the posthumous works […]

“Notice to the Reader,” from Proudhon’s “The Principle of Art”

January 4, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur

NOTICE TO THE READER Two days before his death, in the presence of his wife, Proudhon dictated to his eldest daughter a document by which, after having designated a certain number of friends to watch, as much over the interests as his family as the publication of his works, he charged us specially and collectively of this last care. The first time that we have been able to gather the six, we have recognized, for those of us whose position keeps us far from Paris, the impossibility of working actively at the ordering of the manuscripts left by Proudhon. Thus […]

The Posthumous Works of Proudhon

January 4, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur

The previous post, “What is certain is that property is to be regenerated among us,” has spurred some further research on the relation of The Theory of Property to Proudhon’s works of the early 1860s. Check the comment thread for a number of of interesting items from Proudhon’s correspondence, and the Libertarian Library blog for the “Notice to the Reader” from The Principle of Art, the first of the Posthumous Works.

“What is certain is that property is to be regenerated among us”

January 2, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur

[ezcol_1third] Contr’un Revisited: [commentary coming soon] [/ezcol_1third][ezcol_2third_end] I was asked to clarify Proudhon’s position on property, by someone reading the AK Press anthology, Property is Theft! I had been under the impression that, although Iain McKay’s introductory material consistently claims that Proudhon did not “change his mind” about property, the concluding chapter of The Theory of Property was included—and there is nothing ambiguous about that material. Unfortunately, besides placing the material from The Theory of Property in an Appendix, and suggesting that Proudhon had considered it of less importance than The Political Capacity of the Working Classes, which he was […]

2012 translation plans / an anarchist-communist children’s book from 1901

January 1, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur

I’m in the process of working out my 2012 plan of action, including which works I’m going to concentrate of translating. I’m collaborating with a colleague on some of Charles Fourier’s more entertaining writings, and will be serializing The Exploits of Ravachol in the “Gallery of Rogues,” but what I generally find is that I can only give one translation project so much attention in a given day or week, before the work gets dull and, more importantly, I don’t get a chance to process and internalize what I’ve learned from translating a given set of passages. If some of […]

Joseph Déjacque, The Servile War

December 30, 2011 Shawn P. Wilbur

[one_third padding=”0 10px 0 0px”][/one_third][two_third_last padding=”0 0px 0 10px”] The Servile War. Joseph Déjacque Property is robbery. Slavery is murder. P. J. Proudhon. We are Abolitionists from the North, come to take and release your slaves; our organization is large, and must succeed. I suffered much in Kansas, and expect to suffer here, in the cause of human freedom. Slaveholders I regard as robbers and murderers; and I have sworn to abolish slavery and liberate my fellow-men. John Brown. A handful of free soilers have just attempted a relief of slaves on the frontiers of Virginia and Maryland. They […]