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The proprietor, producing neither by his own labor nor by his implement, and receiving products in exchange for nothing, is either a parasite or a thief.

— Pierre-Joseph Proudhon What is Property? (1840)

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More quotes by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

All men in their hearts, I say, bear witness to these truths; they need only to be made to understand it.

What is Property? (1840)

All parties without exception, when they seek for power, are varieties of absolutism.

Philosophy at Work : A Constructive Approach to Philosophy (1960)

To name a thing is easy: the difficulty is to discern it before its appearance.

What is Property? (1840)

As man seeks justice in equality, so society seeks order in anarchy.

What is Property? (1840)

Talents is a creation of society rather than a gift of nature; it is an accumulated capital of which the recipient is only the guardian.

What is Property? (1840)

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In a society such as ours, it is almost impossible for a person to be responsible.

Jacques Ellul The Betrayal by Technology (1993)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.