What Is Property? · Chapter
§ 3: Prescription Gives No Title to Property explained
Proudhon argues that prescription (acquisition through lapse of time) cannot legitimize property.
What happens
Proudhon argues that prescription (acquisition through lapse of time) cannot legitimize property. He contends that continued possession, no matter how long, cannot transform a usufructuary into a proprietor. Prescription, he claims, is a legal fiction that contradicts property itself, and that true justice requires equality of possessions. He critiques legal authorities like Grotius, Toullier, and Dunod, and concludes that property cannot be established by prescription, as reason and the right to life supersede any temporal claim.
Themes in this chapter
Possession vs. Property
Proudhon distinguishes between mere possession (usufruct) and property, arguing that prescription cannot turn the former into the latter.
Critique of Law and Government
The chapter attacks civil law's creation of property through prescription, calling it a fiction that exceeds legitimate legislative power.
Equality and Justice
Proudhon insists that true justice requires equality of possessions, and that prescription, if valid, must presuppose equality.
Property as Theft
Implicit throughout: property derived from prescription is illegitimate, as it deprives the proletaire of their rightful share.
Characters to notice
- Pierre Joseph Proudhon
Author and central voice; argues against prescription as a title to property, asserting equality and reason.
- Grotius
Quoted for his view that prescription is a fiction and for his argument that abandoning a right may prevent perpetual trespass; Proudhon rejects this.
- Toullier
Cited for his definition of prescription as a means to settle property disputes and stabilize society.
- Dunod
Referenced for his explanation that prescription, though repugnant to natural equity, serves public order.
- Cicero
Mentioned in the context of the consent of mankind as an indication of nature, not a law of nature.
- St. Paul
Quoted for the maxim that in prescription, a violation of right prevents the claim (Nunquam in usucapionibus juris error possessori prodest).
- Cassiodorus
Quoted for the idea that property is a safe harbor from legal tempests.
Key passages
“Prescription, or the right of acquisition through the lapse of time, is, therefore, a fiction of the law, conventionally adopted.”
Prescription is a legal fiction, not a natural right.
Proudhon dismisses prescription as an artificial construct of law.
“I ask, then, in the first place, how possession can become property by the lapse of time?”
How can mere duration turn possession into property?
Central rhetorical question challenging the logic of prescription.
“Thus the origin of prescription is identical with that of property itself; and since the latter can legitimate itself only when accompanied by equality, prescription is but another of the thousand forms which the necessity of maintaining this precious equality has taken.”
Prescription and property share the same origin, and both require equality to be legitimate.
Proudhon ties prescription to the principle of equality.
“By the Eternal! I am that man. Though a million proprietors should burn for it in hell, I lay the blame on them for depriving me of my portion of this world's goods.”
Proudhon declares himself willing to let proprietors suffer rather than abandon his claim to his share.
Emphatic rejection of Grotius's argument for abandoning rights.
