Pierre-Joseph Proudhon created the phrase 'Property is theft'.
Posted by The Pete Quiñones Show, Checked
- Sources
- 6 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
The Pete Quiñones ShowOct 1, 2026
Multiple independent sources credit Pierre-Joseph Proudhon with coining or famously declaring 'Property is theft!' in his 1840 work What Is Property?, and the claim matches the post's wording ('He' referring to Proudhon). One source notes the phrase's rough counterpart appears in a 1797 Sade text, which slightly complicates the 'created' framing but does not overturn the attribution.
What was said
… That's the anti-Semitism is a Jew's nightmare. Um, PJ. Prudhomme, I will end here. PJ. Prudhomme, uh, who actually came up with the word anarchism to describe his movement. I always liked him. He's an atheist, but everything else seems pretty solid. He also created the phrase, Property is theft. Now, this was only a note to himself, um, December 26, 1847. He's saying, you know, this is like a note. …
The Pete Quiñones Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Harcourt's essay states that Proudhon famously exclaimed 'Property is theft!' in response to the question he posed in his 1840 book What Is Property?.[1]
Supports. Britannica says Proudhon famously declared 'Property is theft!' in his 1840 work, and Psychology Today describes Proudhon as the French politician who coined the phrase.[2][3]
Supports. Wikipedia identifies 'property is theft!' as Proudhon's best-known assertion, from his 1840 first major work, and the Vancouver Public Library and Molinari sources likewise credit him with the phrase.[4][5][6]
Context. An art and popular culture entry calls the slogan coined by Proudhon but notes a similar phrasing appearing in the Marquis de Sade's 1797 text, a nuance about earlier antecedents rather than a contradiction of the attribution.[7]
Sources
7 sources: 1 primary, 6 not rated
- 1Bernard E. Harcourt | “Property Is Theft!” | An Introductionblogs.law.columbia.edu · primary source · cited for: supports
- 2What Is Property? | work by Proudhon - Britannicabritannica.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 3Is Property a Form of Theft? | Psychology Todaypsychologytoday.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Pierre-Joseph Proudhon - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Property Is Theft | Vancouver Public Libraryvpl.bibliocommons.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Molinari, Socialist Anarchism, and the Dissolution of the Stateoll.libertyfund.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7Property is theft!artandpopularculture.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Pierre-Joseph Proudhon coined the word anarchism to describe his movement.Mixed
- Pierre-Joseph Proudhon wrote a note to himself on December 26, 1847, demanding the expulsion of Jews from France and the abolition of synagogues.True
- Mikhail Bakunin and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon were founders of leftist movements who opposed Jewish influence in Europe.True
- John Locke defined the founding principles as life, liberty, and property.Mixed
- The Soviet Decree on Land declared all land to be state property.True