There Was No Revolution

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

• 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

"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