Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Archives - The Libertarian Labyrinth

P.-J. Proudhon, Proposal for a Society of the Perpetual Exhibition (1855)

April 18, 2024 Shawn P. Wilbur

The newest draft translation added to the New Proudhon Library project is the proposal for a Society of the Perpetual Exhibition, in answer to a call by Emperor Napoleon III for uses for the Palais de l’Industrie built in Paris for the 1855 World Fair. The project resembles Proudhon’s mutual credit proposals, as well as the various schemes for association proposed by Bellegarrigue in the 1850s. […]

P.-J. Proudhon, “The Creation of Order in Humanity” — Chapter V

February 25, 2024 Shawn P. Wilbur

OF THE CREATION OF ORDER IN HUMANITY OR PRINCIPLES OF POLITICAL ORGANIZATION BY P.-J. PROUDHON Istæ sunt generationes cœli et terræ… Juxtà genus suum et speciem suam. (Gen. i et ii.) NEW EDITION […]

P.-J. Proudhon, “The Creation of Order in Humanity” — Chapter IV

February 22, 2024 Shawn P. Wilbur

OF THE CREATION OF ORDER IN HUMANITY OR PRINCIPLES OF POLITICAL ORGANIZATION BY P.-J. PROUDHON Istæ sunt generationes cœli et terræ… Juxtà genus suum et speciem suam. (Gen. i et ii.) NEW EDITION […]

P.-J. Proudhon, “The Creation of Order in Humanity” — Chapter VI

February 18, 2024 Shawn P. Wilbur

OF THE CREATION OF ORDER IN HUMANITY OR PRINCIPLES OF POLITICAL ORGANIZATION BY P.-J. PROUDHON Istæ sunt generationes cœli et terræ… Juxtà genus suum et speciem suam. (Gen. i et ii.) NEW EDITION […]

P.-J. Proudhon, “The Political Capacity of the Working Classes” (1865)

January 22, 2024 Shawn P. Wilbur

[These draft translations are part of on ongoing effort to establish an edition of Proudhon’s works in English. They are very much a first step, as there are lots of decisions about how best to […]

Proudhon, “Economy” (Ms. 18255, BnF, excerpts)

December 12, 2023 Shawn P. Wilbur

These writings come from a manuscript held by the French national library, with the title “Economy.” Like the other manuscripts with that title, it appears to be from the early 1850s. This particular set of […]

Proudhon, “The Philosophy of Progress” (revised and expanded translation)

December 10, 2023 Shawn P. Wilbur

Proudhon’s Philosophy of Progress is one of those books that has simply become part of my basic intellectual toolkit, but in ways that I often forget — at least until I read it again and re-encounter all the delightful ideas and turns of phrase it contains. Returning to it over the last week has been a pleasure, but I’ve also felt a bit pressured to wrap up the preliminaries and get on to the notes on Justice in the Revolution and in the Church. […]

Proudhon, “The Celebration of Sunday” (revised and expanded translation)

December 3, 2023 Shawn P. Wilbur

I’m a few days behind schedule getting the first notes on Justice together. Among other things, I’ve been trying to make the most of a narrow fall window to get our yard a little bit better adapted to changing conditions. But work is progressing. I should have test prints of the “text” editions of the first two volumes within a week, at which point I’ll make ordering copies an option for others, and I’ve been trying to shoehorn in the time to put together a companion volume collecting some pre-1858 texts that provide useful context. […]

Readings in Popular and Practical Philosophy

November 23, 2023 Shawn P. Wilbur

With the translation of Proudhon’s Of Justice in the Revolution and in the Church now halfway through its first major revision, the time appears ripe for a more active sort of sharing of the text, in the form of a group reading. That is, however, no small task, given the length and complexity of the work — and the fact that I’m still wrestling the other half into shape, along with a variety of other related texts. So I’m going to try to take my cues from what work during the Constructing Anarchisms project, set myself a task that ought to facilitate the readings of others, establish some forums in which discussion is encouraged and then extend a general invitation to others to play along to whatever extend suits them. […]

Justice in the Revolution and in the Church, Volume Two: Translator’s Notes

November 1, 2023 Shawn P. Wilbur

I have now uploaded the second volume of my working translation of Proudhon’s Of Justice in the Revolution and in the Church, which includes the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Studies, the second part of the essay “Bourgeoisie and Plebs” and two passages from the 1858 edition not included in the revised edition. These are revised drafts, with most of the problem passages resolved, but, as with the first volume, some notes will probably help to orient readers. […]