# Second Proposition explained — What Is Property? > Chapter companion for What Is Property? by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. ## What happens Proudhon argues that property is impossible because it causes production to cost more than it is worth. Through economic analysis and a hypothetical community, he demonstrates that property rent is a wasteful tax that reduces workers' consumption and leads to unproductive consumption by proprietors, ultimately contradicting sound economic principles. ## Themes in this chapter ### Labor and Exploitation Property forces laborers to produce more than they consume, with the surplus wasted by proprietors. ### Inequality of Wealth Property creates an unproductive class that consumes without contributing, exacerbating economic waste. ### Property as Theft Property is shown as a tax on production, effectively stealing labor's value. ## Character check-ins ### Pierre Joseph Proudhon Author and primary voice; presents the economic argument against property. ### Say Quoted on production as exchange; his definition is used to critique property. ## Key lines > Production is exchange on a large scale. To render the exchange productive the value of the whole amount of service must be balanced by the value of the product. Production is essentially a large-scale exchange; for it to be productive, the total value of services rendered must equal the value of what is produced. _Proudhon uses Say's definition to set up his critique of property's imbalance._ > The proprietor—an essentially libidinous animal, without virtue or shame—is not satisfied with an orderly and disciplined life. He loves property, because it enables him to do at leisure what he pleases and when he pleases. The proprietor, driven by base desires, values property for the freedom it gives to indulge in idleness and luxury. _Proudhon characterizes proprietors as inherently wasteful and self-indulgent._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/what_is_property_se/chapters/second-proposition - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/what_is_property_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/what_is_property_se/chapters