I’ve posted a working translation of Proudhon’s “Catechism of Marriage,” from the fourth volume of Justice in the Revolution and in the Church. It’s strange stuff, and unappealing in a variety of ways, but I think it is relatively clear what Proudhon is up to—and where he goes wrong.
Anarchism
A funny thing happened on the way… (1)
Nobody who knows me or my work will be surprised if I admit to working primarily on a large — and sometimes over-large — scale. There are obvious disadvantages to the approach: I have certainly not published as much as I might have, in any of the various fields where I’ve gained some expertise, and much of the writing I have done has been in the form of theoretical “feelers” and thought experiments scattered in a wide variety of forums. The more definitive statements that I have started have been slow to develop. The logistics of serious interdisciplinary study are […]
New Proudhon Library
Huitième étude — Conscience et liberté — français parallèle
HUITIÈME ÉTUDE CONSCIENCE ET LIBERTÉ CHAPITRE PREMIER. Objections théologiques : Qu’il s’agit moins de donner les formules de la Justice que d’en procurer l’observance, laquelle ne peut se passer de religion. I ESSAIS D’UNE PHILOSOPHIE POPULAIRE. — N° 8. DE LA JUSTICE DANS LA RÉVOLUTION ET DANS L’ÉGLISE. ——— HUITIÈME ÉTUDE. CONSCIENCE ET LIBERTÉ. CHAPITRE PREMIER. Objections théologiques : Qu’il s’agit bien moins de donner les formules Justice que d’en procurer l’observance, pour laquelle on ne se peut passer de religion. Monseigneur, Fénelon, au xixe livre du Télémaque, conduisant son héros aux enfers, lui donne cette leçon de théologie : « Télémaque, […]
Contr'un
P.-J. Proudhon, “Catechism of Marriage”
CATECHISM OF MARRIAGE [from Justice in the Revolution and in the Church, New Edition, Vol. IV] Question. — What is the conjugal couple? Answer. — Every power of nature, every faculty of life, every affection of the soul, every category of the intelligence, needs an organ, in order to manifest itself and act. The sentiment of Justice can be no exception to that law. But Justice, which rules all the other faculties and surpasses liberty itself, not being able to have its organ in the individual, would remain for man a notion without efficacy, and society would be impossible, if […]