Apparently I missed a post on the C4SIF site last March, claiming that Proudhon was an advocate of intellectual property. Now, as I am a notorious softy on that question (or self-serving reactionary, depending on who you ask), I’m less inclined to “pistols at dawn” than some might be, but it doesn’t sound much like the Proudhon I know. You can check the comments for some discussion with Stephan Kinsella about the question, which is rendered more difficult because the text at issue is from the half-translated and notoriously difficult System of Economic Contradictions.
French texts
Dixième étude — Amour et mariage —
DIXIÈME ÉTUDE AMOUR ET MARIAGE ESSAIS D’UNE PHILOSOPHIE POPULAIRE. — N° 10. DE LA JUSTICE DANS LA RÉVOLUTION ET DANS L’ÉGLISE. ——— DIXIÈME ÉTUDE. AMOUR ET MARIAGE. Monseigneur, J’aborde une question que le vœu de continence a de tout temps rendue chère aux personnes engagées dans les ordres, et qui m’attirera, j’en ai peur, parmi le monde dévot, bien des lecteurs et des lectrices. Je vais parler de l’amour, sous toutes les formes ; de la société conjugale, dans ce qu’elle a de plus intime, et j’aurai à faire d’étranges révélations. Que le Séraphin qui purifia les lèvres du prophète daigne […]
Contr'un
Two Socialist Catechisms
[ezcol_2third] I’ve been reading around Proudhon quite a bit lately, trying to establish contexts as a step towards further clarifying his ideas. And I have been in search of 19th century English translations of the French socialists, as a step towards establishing the contexts for people like William B. Greene and William Henry Channing. There are large chunks of the writings of Charles Fourier, Victor Considerant, and a number of the important French socialist-feminists tucked away in the pages of American papers. The translations are often partial, and occasionally untrustworthy, but I’ve been setting aside time each week for searching, […]
Contr'un
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, “The Celebration of Sunday” (1839)
I’m happy to finally be able to present the full text of Proudhon’s The Celebration of Sunday, available as rich text at From the Libertarian Library and in pdf form as well. When I started this project, I really had no idea if it would be worth completing, but I’m happy to say that this early work is every bit as interesting as Proudhon’s later productions.