[What is Property? by P. J. Proudhon]@TWC D-Link bookWhat is Property? CHAPTER IV 3/109
In fact,-- That which is JUST must be USEFUL; That which is useful must be TRUE; That which is true must be POSSIBLE; Therefore, every thing which is impossible is untrue, useless, unjust. Then,--a priori,--we may judge of the justice of any thing by its possibility; so that if the thing were absolutely impossible, it would be absolutely unjust. PROPERTY IS PHYSICALLY AND MATHEMATICALLY IMPOSSIBLE. DEMONSTRATION. AXIOM .-- Property is the Right of Increase claimed by the Proprietor over any thing which he has stamped as his own. This proposition is purely an axiom, because,-- 1.
It is not a definition, since it does not express all that is included in the right of property--the right of sale, of exchange, of gift; the right to transform, to alter, to consume, to destroy, to use and abuse, &c.
All these rights are so many different powers of property, which we may consider separately; but which we disregard here, that we may devote all our attention to this single one,--the right of increase. 2.
It is universally admitted.
No one can deny it without denying the facts, without being instantly belied by universal custom. 3.
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