Malabou and the Case for a Proudhon of the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

This article develops Catherine Malabou’s proposal regarding her deconstructive reading of What is Property? by the French anarchi o hubo revolución st Proudhon, based on the proposition that «there was no revolution». It begins by recognizing the persistence of feudal forms of domination within capitalism, understood as an extension of the droit d’aubaine, which today allows us to speak of techno-feudalism. Through a hermeneutic approach, the article explores the main points of the French philosopher’s proposal, beginning with Proudhon’s political and legal critique of property and culminating in an argument for its contemporary relevance. It concludes by raising the question of what it would mean to truly revolutionize the world—not merely to overcome exploitation, but also to dismantle the enduring structures of domination that persist under the logic of profitability, which today manifests as a form of vassalage between capitalism and the proletariat.