Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Quotes
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon was a French political philosopher and the first thinker to call himself an anarchist. Born to a working-class family in Besancon, he educated himself by night while working as a compositor in a printing shop. The quotes below are attributed to Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, organized by topic.
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon on Freedom
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Attributed to Pierre-Joseph Proudhon:
“Liberty is the mother, not the daughter, of order.”
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon on Politics
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Attributed to Pierre-Joseph Proudhon:
“Property is theft.”
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Attributed to Pierre-Joseph Proudhon:
“What is government? It is the perpetual state of war between the strong and the weak.”
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Attributed to Pierre-Joseph Proudhon:
“Anarchy is order; government is civil war.”
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Attributed to Pierre-Joseph Proudhon:
“To be governed is to be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, regulated, enrolled.”