PROUDHON, Pierre-Joseph.

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Autograph letter signed, to Joseph Garnier, outlining a lengthy theoretical discussion of political economy. A long and seemingly unpublished letter wherein the libertarian socialist discusses the nuances of political economy, while reflecting on such authors as Smith and Quesnay.By 1843, Proudhon (1809-1865) was the managing clerk at a water transport firm in Lyon and had published several influential works of anarchist theory. Garnier (1813-1881) was then the editor of the Journal des économistes and a founding member of the Société d'Économie Politique, and had just published his Introduction à l'étude de l'économie politique. Here, Proudhon outlines his analysis of the Introduction, itself heavily influenced by Say. Much of his letter focusses on Garnier's theoretical framework, contending that it is too elaborate and opaque. Despite their theoretical differences, the two men clearly respected one another: Garnier would shortly publish a sympathetic review of Proudhon's De la création de l'ordre dans l'Humanité (1843), while Proudhon quoted Garnier approvingly in his System of Economic Contradictions (1847).

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