Saturday, July 31, 2010

Marx did a hatchet job on Proudhon

Proudhon and Anarchism by L. GamboneRed Lion Press - 1996
  • Marx did a hatchet job on Proudhon and Marxists such as Hal Draper took quotes out of context or dug up embarrassing statements that made Proudhon look authoritarian or proto-fascist.
  • Proudhon's anarchism was rational, non-violent and anti-utopian.
  • In rejecting absolute anarchy and favoring an open-ended process, Proudhon criticized all forms of absolutism and utopianism. 
  • Proudhon was a revolutionary, but his revolution did not mean violent upheaval or civil war, but rather the transformation of society. This transformation was essentially moral in nature and demanded the highest ethics from those who sought change.
  • Proudhon proposed mutualism as an alternative both to capitalism and socialism. Mutualism was not a scheme, but was based upon his observation of existing mutual aid societies and co-operatives as formed by the workers of Lyon
  • Proudhon was in favor of private ownership of small-scale property.

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