Endnotes explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Equality and Justice

  Proudhon argues that equality must be based on justice and strict right, not self-sacrifice, and critiques property for creating inequality.

• Critique of Law and Government

  Proudhon criticizes representative government and the tyranny of talkers, linking them to the perpetuation of property and disorder.

• Property as Theft

  The endnotes reinforce the idea that property is theft, particularly in critiques of literary property and the clergy's reliance on property.

• Labor and Exploitation

  Proudhon contrasts labor with property, noting that the clergy prefer to live by property rather than labor, and critiques the exploitation inherent in property systems.

Characters to notice

• Pierre Joseph Proudhon

  Author of the endnotes, expanding on critiques of property and defending equality.

• Lamartine

  M. Lamartine's report is referenced in relation to literary property.

• Charles Fourier

  Fourier and his disciples are criticized for their myths, allegories, and defense of property.

• Jean Jacques Rousseau

  Rousseau is mentioned in the context of Adamism and chastity.

• Malthus

  A disciple of Malthus is noted for advocating infanticide in England.

• St. Simon

  St. Simon's system is referenced regarding inheritance and the designation of heirs.

• M. Louis Blanc

  M. Louis Blanc is mentioned in the context of the St. Simonian school.

• Jesus Christ

  Jesus is referenced in the discussion of Arians and Semi-Arians.

Key passages

• “Le National, in reply to the report of M. Lamartine, endeavors to prove that literary property is of quite a different nature from landed property; as if the nature of the right of property depended on the object to which it is applied, and not on the mode of its exercise and the condition of its existence.”

  Le National argues that literary property is different from landed property, but Proudhon rejects this, insisting that property rights are defined by how they are exercised, not by the object.

  Proudhon critiques the distinction between types of property, emphasizing the mode of exercise over the object.

• “Equality must be based upon justice, upon strict right, upon the principles invoked by the proprietor himself; otherwise it will never exist.”

  True equality requires a foundation of justice and strict right, using the same principles that property owners invoke, or it cannot be achieved.

  Proudhon argues that equality cannot be based on self-sacrifice but must be grounded in justice.

• “The disciples of Fourier have long seemed to me the most advanced of all modern socialists, and almost the only ones worthy of the name. If they had understood the nature of their task, spoken to the people, awakened their sympathies, and kept silence when they did not understand; if they had made less extravagant pretensions, and had shown more respect for public intelligence—perhaps the reform would now, thanks to them, be in progress.”

  Proudhon considers Fourier's disciples the most advanced socialists, but criticizes them for not effectively communicating with the people and for making excessive claims.

  Proudhon acknowledges the potential of Fourierism but faults its practitioners for failing to engage the public properly.