PROUDHON, Pierre-Joseph.

£2,750 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Qu'est-ce que la propriété? Second edition of the French anarchist philosopher's notorious thesis, together with the first editions of his two succeeding works, the "deuxième" and "troisième" memoirs. Qu'est-ce que la propriété? was first published in 1840, and shocked its readership with its famous assertion that "all property is theft", which remains widely cited among radical circles to this day. Proudhon himself referred to Qu'est-ce que la propriété? as a "diabolical work which frightens even me" (Correspondance I, p. 296), and he was called to defend himself against insurrection charges at his local court immediately after its publication.The distinguished economist Blanqui (1805-1881) was appointed by the Minister of Justice to read Proudhon's inflammatory treatise, and his review of it was partially reproduced by Le Moniteur on 7 September. Although he opposed the views that Proudhon adopted, Blanqui's judgement was ultimately favourable because he believed Proudhon to be a philosopher and inquirer rather than a serious revolutionary. Blanqui's verdict helped to lessen the insurrection charges brought against Proudhon and it was only because of his support that Proudhon was permitted to keep his stipend. The second work in this volume is Proudhon's grateful response to Blanqui's review, where he reacts to some of the reviewer's objections, and offers some moderate revisions to his first work. In the third work, written in response to Victor Considérant's "Défense du F

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.