What is Property? An Inquiry into the Principle of Right and of Government

P. J. Proudhon’s early 19th-century philosophical and political treatise examines the principle of right and the foundations of government through a sustained critique of conventional understandings of property. The work argues that standard definitions—whether grounded in labor or in law—do not withstand close scrutiny. Proudhon challenges the legitimacy of property as it is socially organized, questioning what justifies ownership and how legal and economic institutions relate to justice. He frames property as lacking a sound underlying cause, thereby putting pressure on the assumptions behind social consent and governance. Across its opening chapters, the book invites readers to reconsider equality and the role of existing frameworks in shaping human relations.