Nyhet

There Was No Revolution

Reflections on Property, Power and the Servile Condition

AvCatherine Malabou

Inbunden, Engelska, 2026

637 kr

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Beskrivning

In her new book, Catherine Malabou argues that the French Revolution existed in name only, not in reality – privileges disappeared only on the surface and the old forms of domination persisted in structuring everyday life. And, sure enough, French citizens soon came to ask: "How is it that we are falling back into the same patterns of privilege and servitude?"In developing this argument, Malabou echoes the conclusion drawn by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, whose work, What is Property?, written in 1840, claimed that there was no revolution. Proudhon witnessed how, in the aftermath of the French Revolution, feudal relations persisted and monarchy was restored. He connected the persistence of feudalism and servitude to his critique of property. For Proudhon, property is but another name for domination: "Property is theft," he famously declared; by which he meant that private property starts with a theft of memory and meaning that transforms continuous bondage into a promise of emancipation. This marks the specificity of the anarchist critique of property, and it led Proudhon to conclude "I am an anarchist."Malabou connects her re-reading of Proudhon's masterpiece with our own political situation today, more than two hundred years after the French Revolution. She examines how the enduring domination that is central to private property infiltrates various aspects of the modern world, from the legacies of colonialism and slavery to work and politics. This timely re-assessment of the relation between property and domination will be of interest to students of philosophy and politics, and to anyone concerned with today's key political questions.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2026-03-27
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:224
Förlag:Polity Press
ISBN:9781509567560
Översättare:Shread, Carolyn

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Mer om författaren

Catherine Malabou is Professor of Philosophy in the departments of Comparative Literature and European Languages and Studies at the University of California at Irvine.

Recensioner i media

"In this brilliant and original study, Catherine Malabou extends her ongoing research into Pierre-Joseph Proudhon's critique of private property."Justin Clemens, University of Melbourne

Innehållsförteckning

Translator's Note1. Aubaine right"Property" and "private property"Marx: defining property as theft presupposes the existence of propertyTheft as junction pointProudhon's skeleton key: aubaine rightThe modern meaning of aubaineThe medieval meaning of aubaineOn inheritanceChanging lineagesThe findingThe approach2. Contemporary Critiques of Private Property:Commons, Colonial Dospossession, Revisiting AnarchismThe neoliberal wallIs the age of access the end of the means of production?No changeThe commonsColonial dispossessionProudhon, yes-but no, not anarchismBack to MarxThe "oxymoron"3. "Property is Impossible" (Marx/Proudhon)Theft as performative actTen propositionsMarx: from praise to caricatureDisregarding aubaine rightFrom proportionality to disproportionality4. The Aporias of Primitive Accumulation (Proudhon/Marx)Marx on theftPrimitive accumulation and the long transitionKropotkin to Proudhon's rescue5. Timelines of the French RevolutionContinuities and blackoutsAn erasure saturated with memoryThe theft of something that never existed"In their heart"6. Aubains, serfs and bastards: the taint of three tarsThe aubain's servitude"Aubenage", or the serf as aubain: mortmainBastards are serfs and aubainsShipwreck rightTars and tracesPhysical mark, symbollic tarTwo types of forfeitureFrom the outset7. Outsiders and InsidersExtraterritoriality and marginalitySahlins' analysis of the invention of naturalizationTotality and fragmentationCerutti's study of the liminal state of property and the uncertainty of the disinherited vulnerability and weak belongingBelonging to no one at all8. And yet...9. The Impossible DemarcationThe feudal property system"Revolutionary" propertyThe challenges of the Great Demarcation: paying relief, abolishingThe failureProudhon's conclusionsPowerful as the King10. On Neo-FeudalismTechno-feudalismContemporary versions of aubaine right11. Examining Self-Government: From "commons" to commonThe "program"Self-management versus self-governmentSome definitionsAre Ostram and Proudhon fighting the same battle?From plural (commons) to singular (common)Best intentionsAntipathy for the principle of authorityIs community everything or nothing?12. Servitudes: In the land of freedomThe Edict of Louis X: "There are no slaves in France"On and off French soilThe dual appropriation of Toussaint LouvertureUnthought twice overServitude, serfdom, slavery. Proudhon's ambivalenceFrom slavery to servitude: the hesitation of historiansThe historians' cross to bear: relations between ancient slavery and feudal serfdomTransatlantic slavery denialCésaire the federalistBack to "Theft is property!"13. Anarchies of the RevolutionAnarchy as the internal debate of the RevolutionAnarchy between Revolution and RepublicPropertyEqualitySeparation of powersSovereigntyFrom invective for formingFrom forming to invectiveThe difficulties of self-designationAt the rish of going in circlesNotesIndex