Pierre J. Proudhon, Anarchist
D., HARRY W. LAIDLER, Ph.
Pierre J. Proudhon, Anarchist THE HISTORY OF SOCIALIST THOUGHT By HARRY W. LAIDLER, Ph.D. PLACE OF PROUDHON: The final French revolutionary writer of this period is Pierre Joseph Proudhon...
...It is thus seen that Proudhon is Inconsistent as well S* paradoxical...
...Th* monkey has two hands and two feet which 'SiH interchangeable...
...on* monkeyshine of mine which pW ghres me* a pain...
...Every question of internal politics ought to be solved according to the dsts of the Department of...
...According to the so-called occupation theory, that which belongs to no one becomes the property of him who takes possession of it...
...mething you want snd not get it thsn to "ttefn*c'k!m*thing y°U d°n'1 W*nt *** & i fcdam Coaldiggcr...
...Some of yoa girls may eon* fess te hsving read the Elsie book* ia yea* esteem youth and you will remember hew every detail >f Elsie'* life from .he cradl* to the grave was exposed te a palpitating public and we had Elsie a* sweat* heart, mother, and finally grandmother...
...Th* latter, taking a firmer grasp' upon the neck of her protesting infsnt, climbs laboriously upon th* arm of th* chair, leaps with.a graceful arch to the shelf, and then disappears over the top of the books...
...It* believed primarily in enunciating general principles, aad In trying to apply those principles to concrete steps, Be was an intense believer m liberty, in equality...
...In extenuation of this horrible *in let me say thst jjfc those .occasions, I slways voted for the lesser |jff(r'-A politics...
...He don't have to...
...All of which goes to show thst it Is better to vote...
...His frontal attack on private property—the most direct made up to his time by any revolutionist—and his condemnation of the class of private proprietors put him in the ranks of militant revolutionists, and men and women of all schools of thought have for generations drawn inspiration from his teachings...
...If so, do we not have alette interference and control of th* hated community...
...His parents were poor, and young Proudhon earned his way through school by taking care of cows, acting as a waiter in restaurants, and at similar occupations...
...Late comers, according te this theory, hsve no right...
...Its normal rste was zero...
...By th* way, did any one of you ever steal a msrch on both Genesis and Darwin by making a Stenkey of yourself...
...France In 1880, Ave years before his death...
...The cocoanuts i* his arm also indicate a superfluity of «m If he were a human being similarly situated Hpould worry about the impending shut-down :aPh* coceanut industry...
...Urges a National Bsnk: Proudhon distinguished between the ultimate goal sad the transition to that goal...
...In a pinch h* can make both ends meet by chewing the fleas at the end of his tail...
...But every time I think about the narrow escape' 'and with some of tteaj^ipld .sweat breaks out 0* ">y brow snd the monkey flesh creeps up my back...
...Directly behind comes Fanny Fee*, nervous, with her big orsnge eyes sparkling* and her bead held high, In her mouth there danglea th* protesting but helples* form of th* three-day-old kitten whom Funny Face, to her groat surprise te it said, brought into this vsls of tesrs on torn up copies of the Birth Control Review behind the "Encyclopaedia" la the bookcase...
...If they were free born, independent wage •arners, the orgsn grinders could save th* chains...
...But while it l» hard on us, it is far harder on Funny Fees'* child...
...In the first place, it would be devoid of Government, for, he believed, "th* highest perfection is found in the union of order and anarchy...
...j Isabel At It Again Bourgeois Bed Tim* Storm WHIN, Boaw seven years iff...
...No one is king...
...Summary: A social organ i rat ion without Government, without privute property, without Inequality, was therefore negatively Proudhon's ideal...
...t In advocating both anarchy and absolute equality, Proudhon confronted" himself with a dilemma and failed to answer it Suppose that each cultivated th* fields as he wished under Proudhon's non»*uthor-lsation system, without any outside Interference...
...These checks would purrhace anything else eost-| ing in their production the ssme labor...
...Favpred Private Po***i*!on: While Proudhon condemned private property, he wis not opposed to private possession providing that possession was secured, by labor...
...but ss th* opinion of no one counts except in so fsr ss it is demonstrated to be true, no one can substitute his will for reason—no one is King...
...w»at if they hsd been elected byg»y vote...
...wM, began writing pi«CM 4»«t a Wm black kitten named Isabel wm h*4 adopted us, we never thought that %T*4 would be engaged in chronicling the adventures of Isabel as great-great-great-grandmother in 1925...
...State or some outside body prevent my taking more than I consume from the msgasines or banks, whatever they are celled...
...There is a rumor about a monkey who saved himself a million cocoanuts by living on banana peelings...
...Up Isabel, up Funny Face...
...Isabel, who has watched this procedure with every evidence ef maternal approval, then turns suddenly upon ths fussy four who sit in a row behind her and begins washing them from head to foot...
...AtI*^'^^*^* • jlfnt ijtjMMjfff out tk*) tWt»tet «n«rtH**y\nd , trtter* ¦.wfejjyf» M S btt^ Scot...
...His Aim Anarchy: Proudhon's ultimate society would possess several characteristics...
...your arrival on the seen...
...At Isabel's throaty direction, th* company doss fours right Into Una and all stand at ease In front of the bookcase...
...He did not show us how eseh ef tbes* principles "could te worked oat to extremity WithOUt interfering with the other...
...When a fellow comes to m* now recommending s good lesser I tell him that while tells might be less objectionable than carbuncles or vie* versa, I don't mink enough of ttm 4iff*r*no* to invest by ballot la •'ther on*V'"*« g result of this policy, all the good »en I have voted for made good and remained good, •y the simpN'ejfpsdWnt of not getting eleoteo...
...He did not think that any one was capable of working out a future State in any detail...
...Then I would walk in the voting booth and make the sign P^P*'croat over my pet evil Ssgduo time it turned out that my choice had been entirely too modest when it recommended itself ss * lesser evil...
...At nineteen, compelled to leave college, he became a printer, 'and there continued his education, absorbing particularly the contents of volumes on theology printed by his firm...
...Later Proudhon served three years in prison for breaking a censorship ISW, andym his release, WSS Sgsin sentenced to s prison term for attacking the Church...
...There are two varieties of monkeys — wild ones gad tame ones...
...If at times she seams inclined to the theory of ' ffl^lrfl^ individualistic, philosophy still in us to permit ter to have her way in so purely personal a matter...
...Again, Labor prMoppoees the instruments *fTabor* and where is on* te obtejn these in * system of private, personal prop*H*V ptwrided on* does not already possess them...
...Statistics...
...Perhaps somebody got mixed up with Russell Sage or Hetty Green...
...As a step in bringing about his ideal society, he urged the or-ganitation of a great national bank from which the werkers would be able to obtain the instrumenta of labor without frfec, > Th* bsnk would issue pspsr money in for** '**..: checks in exchange for commodities ^jses^^'jSjjfsin...
...But it is sort, of hard to dash off little gems ef literature with one eye constantly on a greet march* Here they com* again, boys, hep, hep, hep, on to th* bookcase and in with the kitten...
...It may said that that only is mine which I produce...
...The theory also defeats itself...
...Are Anarchy and Equality Consistent...
...Proudhon also, Ignoring the teaching* of heredity, looked forward to s time in which "the present inequality in the talent and capacity of men would be reduced to an irreducible minimum...
...The laborer would receive all that he earned and the products would cost him no more than they were worth...
...In fact our sttituds towards Isabel, Funny Face, aad the kittens is a complete refutation of the lack of responsibility If tte ladies hsve decided that the latest arrival AJ^^'W^^fMr^JS^m^^011''1^6 environment, who are we to interfere With so noble a project...
...Now and again she mates low nois** in her throat, These are commands for her followers...
...earned numerous awards, and, the story goes, he would arrive home loaded with prizes to And no dinner awaiting him...
...All men would be associated with one another on terms of equality...
...It ' may be added that his concrete plan for initiating his system of free association appeared so Utopian to the people of his day that it received but two out of 603 votes in the Assembly of 1848...
...And when they die, they die in peace because there is no monkey hell...
...campaign would com* sround presenting tte t> o evils hatched out at the recent nasPtat^vggTsT^ns...
...His bitter denunciation of all Government snd authority, and hla ridicule of the fantastic Utopian plana of hit predecessors, seem to place him squarely, however, outside of the school of Utopian Socialists and Communists and into the ranks of Anarchists...
...There amy te some who know nothing of the » charm* tnM& e*fly# *^ amniteral splrf to ask.why we do not get rid of of p*r»pecTlv*on tte phrtVthe.queetloaJi, 2" t5...
...We *it at th* typewriter prspsring some scintillating bit thst will put capitalism flat oa it* back and ther* enter* th* room a solemn procession a Ml like the chorus of women In a Grosk tr«g*dy...
...P . * , *\j Is It not then our doty, having teen unquestionably adopted by Isabel, to provide every facility for tte proper upbringing of .helsjfJJ^nsd 'her offspring...
...Therefore, In taking it from the community, th* occupier must have committed theft...
...If that mite of wet fur and incoherent cries ever grows up to...
...He cscsped to Belgium, however, and returned to...
...If in the past few weeks the** columns have seemed * bit distrait, our reader* will, w* are .,ur«, te lenient when they learn that we now hav* seven est* Is th* home, four of them Isabel's latest brood snd on* the diminutive offspring of Isabel's daughter, Funny Face, who ia still with u* from th* tints before last...
...Bat his Ideal of free association, his desire to give scope te the development of human personality, are as a bresth of fresrat* in Contrast to the myriad ofJw« regulations of individual conduct which many of the pictured Utopias aft** flW*A**R•*"'Mm IgMnM lutionsry JlfMw^iamMtlon shifts from Frsncs to other^psrt*, snd it tributes aiythfng* oT^te'VTKr' world's revolutionary thinking...
...Among the monkeys in captivity, there are many who have learned to dress, eat and act like men, but no one has succeeded yet in teaching any of thsm to work...
...At school he...
...Beneath th* top shelf on which repose th* "En-cyclopaedia" is a wicker chair...
...Looking closely at the monkey, it Will be observed that his bread basket is well rounded...
...Can anyone suppose...
...But that's thr ease...
...So far he has not been located...
...If he were an American office-holder ha ceuld hold four hands behind his back, and if he were like most of us he would try te get rich by cheating himself at four-handed poker...
...Th* monkey does not wear any clothes...
...Subsequently he received a pension of 1,500 francs from the Academic de Besancon, given to promising students in the field of literature and science...
...The professor who went to Africa to study the ¦onkey language says they only have a vocabulary •f twenty-six words...
...It assume* that at one time property was held in-common, for, if property occupied at on* time belonged to no one, it must have belonged to society-at-large...
...Furthermore, he opposed giving higher remuneration to superior brains, providing society hsd contributed to the worker the mesne of obtaining a certain training...
...In his emphssis on privste possession, he opposed Communism where the community wss "proprietor not only of goods, but of persons and wills," and where labor, which ought to be a condition imposed by Nature, become* "a human command, and thereby odious' He declared that he did not agree with Communists, because their system would lead to the oppression of the strong by the weak...
...At any rate, a few months at the.pub-"e feed trough was usually enough to convert my 'esetr evil Into th* worst yet...
...If we analyze both these arguments, we find that neither of them proves its esse...
...His aim was not primarily to bring to men equality of compensation, but equal-I ity of mesne for producing weslth...
...V Hi **•*> Bo* P»v rat for the tree, nor '-'the) ground under the tree,' nor the view from tie) tree...
...Liiter Theory^ ^ Nofconhj of goods, he meinteiaad, wsa matured, by the time snd lsbor put into their production...
...Of sll ssd words of tongue or pen The saddest are these, it mighL hsvs been...
...But the monkey isn't test sort of a monkey...
...Of positive, constructive features Proudhon had few...
...hold the kitten by th* *cruff and dapjned be him who cries Enough...
...In ths dim recuses behind th* volume* entitled "Arabia to Basa," "Basain* to Broek," she deposits her charge, niiag him away, as it were, for futifr* reference...
...But in answer tb this contention...
...Your possessions depend on the number of people in a country, the extent of that country and the time of...
...What made the wild monkeys so wild is the accusation that they are related to me...
...They belong to him because he picked them...
...In 1840^ following a course of study in political economy, he wrote his famous book, "Qu'est-ce que Is Proprlete...
...But he took no part in the Revolution of February, 1848, contending that, as all forms of Government' were bad, it did not matter which, faction triumphed...
...When winter approaches, he grows * thicker fur...
...When the political revolution had passed, he was elected by a large majority to the Constituent Assembly of the Department of the Seine, and urged his scheme for so organising the credit of the country that all would be furnished with the instruments of production—s plan which, as has been stated, was defeated by an overwhelming vote of 601 to two...
...Evolutionists clsim thst men sre descendants from monkeys: descend mesns come down—come down is right...
...For surely the ag« of miraelea wiII not be past, ' ' • « * * * ¦ It It had enough to be in the plight ef average Republican and1 not-yet have your eye* ep*n, lm to te suddenly seised by the scruff of tte neck aad* hoisted willy-nilly up and down serosa tte bights of learning at the tender age ef three days is rubbing it in...
...Six years, later he published his "Systeme des Contradictions Econo-miques ou Philosophic de la Misere," in which he criticised Socialist and Communist theories, but failed to build up any constructive philosophy...
...The bank would organize officials in all parts of France, and would furnish gratuitous credit to all Comers...
...Isabel looks st Funny significantly...
...Their motto is "Eat, drink and be sserry" for tomorrow you may die...
...Property Is Theft": In the second plsce, Proudhon'* ideal society would possess no privste property, which he regards ss theft...
...The* earth is mine only so long as I eultivst* i...
...Interest, Proudhon contended, had a tendency to fail...
...The monkeys who collect for organ grinders only do so on account of the chain around their neck...
...Having no clothes the monkey is always in style and he is never bothered by lsundry bills...
...These feline alarums and excursions might not have so devastating an effect upon oar literary efforts If thsy happened leas frequently...
...every question of international politics is a question of international statistics...
...It is difficult to classify this writer...
...Is Mot tbe reproach for* •ver .hurled at )**' that <*M *)**ld abolish the home, nationalise women, introduce fro* love, create domestic anarchy...
...Who's the Monkey Hit "EE lit aWskay...
...second, that of Labor...
...He has two cocpanuts in his arm...
...Tomcat hood, we Shall renounce OUr inherent Modernism and join up With the Fundamentalists...
...It was then inevitable that rents and profits likewise would cease...
...The theory of Labor demsnd* the abolition of property, in order thst everyone may have free access te the soil snd to the instruments of lsbor...
...Let us conclude then, that in equality, and in equality, alone, the adage of Saint Simon, 'To each one according to his cspscity, to esch cspscity according to its work,' finds it* full snd corn-complete application...
...When the weather man hangs out tht sign "Fair snd Warmer," he sheds hi* hair...
...What Is Property...
...This was the highest form of sociabiliU...
...Sine* then I have learned better...
...On this point hs observed: "When the astronomer produces observations, the poet verses, th* savant experiences, they consume instrument*, books, trsvsls, etc...
...The control of man by man is oppression, "Anarchy— the absence of master or sovereign-such is the form of Government which we approach every day, and our inveterate habit of taking msn for a guide and his wills for law makes us regard it as a heap of disorder snd an oppression of chsos...
...o*de»:'fFe incapable of responsibility...
...He then tried to develop tbe plan without State sid, orgsnising s private bank for thst purpose, but the bsnk failed within a few weeks...
...The science of Government belongs of right to one of the section of the Academy of Sciences, of which the perpetusl secretary necessarily becomes the first minister...
...snd since every citisen may address a memoire to the Academy, every citisen is s legislator...
...He does not hire himself to another monkey to jjfcV two cocoanuts for the privilege of keeping one...
...But it is folly to think that all of society would or could renounce title to their common possession...
...The capital for the establishment of this bank was to be secured from taxation on property and a progressive tax on the salaries of Government officials...
...This theory thus mskes private ownership depend on nothing more nor less than the secident of birth...
...With the assistance of the bank, its rate would actually become zero...
...As each one might obtain the instruments of labor from the National Bank without price, no one would pay interest to a private capitalist for their, use...
...Well, strange as it may seem in a brainy man like me, this is exactly what I've don* on sundry and numerous occasions, and while p-usually had a pretty good time giving imitations |M_?arssn, then is...
...After mature 1 ^liberation and absorption of a great deal of noise •ad fireworks, I would pick my fsvorite evil...
...Every rainy day is wash day, and when he hangs himself out to dry he hangs by his own tail and saves sisthes pins...
...Economists try te justify the existence of private property on two grounds: first, that of occupation...
...He hangs on a tree...
...And yet, where each one possessed S* instruments of lsbor, he sismed be of the Spinlon thst each would labor equally, and that th* product*, being measured by later tlms, would te equal in value...
...Mr Aiken*** C**WB*lSa*kfea**' ^-^^^"^^esaH...
...Well, the monkey should •otry — some of the richest people in the world got their "muzzums" by the use of only one word —NO...
...But one should not rob another by charging for the use of the instruments of labor, by exacting rent, profit, or interest...
...At th* head stalks Isabel, very large sad black and dignified, in her best mstriarchal manner...
...PLACE OF PROUDHON: The final French revolutionary writer of this period is Pierre Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865...
...The second argument advanced by the upholder of private property is that th* basis of privste property iS tibor...
...The moment another labors thereon, it becomes his private property...
...Tottering along behind th* two riders com* the rank and file, four fat," fussy, still a bit wobbly kittens, one month old now...
...When this is don* ths wet victims, a bit groggy from these forced ablutions, Stagger to ths door gad contemplate the great wide open spaces of the hack yard through dreamy blue eyes...
...What is to prevent my accumulating later receipts if my production exceeds va consumption ? Or shall the...
...As a matter of fact, Isabel and her descendants hsvs developed a regular Ku K lux Klan passion toff parading and they repeat ths process ilsserfbed above about every halt hour, escorting the wailing novitiate back and forth aad «p and down at all too frequent intervals...
...If a capitalist or landlord added ten per cent te the coit thereof, the goods were thus made to cost more than they were worth, and the proprietor thus became a robber...
...asks Professor Ely, . . . "that all would derive th* same products from the ssme Instruments...
...Th* monkey is the only animal known to science which csn live on his own parasites...
...On the other hand, his belief in absolute equality smacks distinctly of the Communist philosophy, and it is indeed doubtful whether such equality as Proudhon advocates could be carried out except under a pretty thoroughgoing authority armed with drastic power of interference in the affairs of men...
...Then the newspapers and ors-ters" ootoBarui J me with arguments as to which of T* two arils Was the lesser on...
...It's that way with Isabel and us...
...The tame ones are tame beoause they believe with Fundamentalists that men are Simon-pure muds...
...now, if society provides foe this consumption, what other proportionality of honors can the astronomer, the savant, the poet demand...
...I hate to '{ess up, buk,they **y confession is good for the soul snd goouness vPOws my soul n«eds s bracer, so here it go**—I fifcfW to vote for evft...
...Hia Life: Proudhon was born in Besancon, the birthplace of Fourier, thirty-seven years after the birth of the great advocate of the phalanx form of human association...
Vol. 2 • August 1925 • No. 33
