Possession vs. Property

Where it surfaces

• I

  Implicit in the distinction between legitimate possession (based on occupation or labor) and property as an unjust institution; Proudhon seeks to show that property is impossible as a principle.

• II

  Proudhon draws a critical distinction between possession (fact) and property (right), arguing that property is a legal fiction that enables abuse.

• § 2: Occupation, as the Title to Property

  Proudhon distinguishes between mere possession (occupation) and absolute property, arguing that occupation only confers a right to use, not ownership.

• § 3: Civil Law as the Foundation and Sanction of Property

  The chapter distinguishes between possession (usufruct) and property (absolute ownership), arguing that law wrongly conflates them.

• III

  The chapter contrasts occupation and labor as competing foundations for property rights.

• § 1: The Land Cannot Be Appropriated

  Proudhon distinguishes between regulated use (possession) and absolute ownership (property), advocating for the former.

• § 3: Prescription Gives No Title to Property

  Proudhon distinguishes between mere possession (usufruct) and property, arguing that prescription cannot turn the former into the latter.

• § 4: Labor

  The chapter distinguishes between possession (temporary use) and property (permanent ownership), arguing that labor alone cannot transform possession into property.

• § 5: That Labor Leads to Equality of Property

  Proudhon distinguishes between the laborer's right to possession of the value they create and the proprietor's unjust claim to exclusive property.

• § 8: That, from the Standpoint of Justice, Labor Destroys Property

  The chapter distinguishes between legitimate possession (use) and illegitimate property (exclusion), arguing that labor destroys the latter.

• Third Proposition

  The chapter contrasts the right of occupancy (possession) with the right of increase (property), showing that the latter is unsustainable and ultimately annihilated by the former.

• Fifth Proposition

  Property's 'right of increase' makes exchange impossible and consumption unequal.

• Tenth Proposition

  The chapter contrasts natural rights (like liberty and paternity) with the right of increase, which never achieves balance, showing property as unnatural.

• Determination of the Third Form of Society. Conclusion.

  The chapter distinguishes possession (legitimate) from property (illegitimate), arguing that suppressing property while maintaining possession will revolutionize society.