More influential than Karl Marx during his lifetime, Pierre-Joseph Proudon's work has long been out of print or unavailable in English. Weighing in at over 700 pages, Iain McKay's comprehensive collection is a much-needed and timely historical corrective, and includes a number of new translations of Proudhon's work for an English-speaking audience, as well as an exhaustive historical introduction to Proudhon's life and works.

"An indispensable source book for anyone interested in Proudhon's ideas and the origins of the socialist and anarchist movements in nineteenth-century Europe."—Robert Graham, editor of Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas

"Iain McKay's introduction offers a sure-footed guide through the misconceptions surrounding Proudhon's thought."—Mark Leier, author of Bakunin: The Creative Passion

”In the English-speaking world, Proudhon is one of the best known but least well understoodanarchists, largely because the bulk of his work is not available in translation. Iain McKay's comprehensive anthology, which draws on Proudhon's correspondence as well as his published work, fills a real gap and should encourage new readers to engage with his work and appreciate both the positive contribution he has made to anarchist thinking and the enormity of his influence on the anarchist movement.”—Ruth Kinna author of Anarchism: A Beginner's Guide and editor of Anarchist Studies

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1869) was one of the most important and influential political theorists of the 19th century. The first person to call himself an anarchist, he is the author of What is Property? An Inquiry into the Principle of Right and of Government; The System of Economical Contradictions (or, the Philosophy of Misery);