Note 673 — Chapter V · : PROUDHON AND THE SOCIALISM OF 1848

“The very existence of the State implies antagonism or war as the essential or inevitable condition of humanity, a condition that calls for the intervention of a coercive force which shall put an end to the struggle continually waging between the weak and the strong.” (Voix du Peuple, December 3, 1849; Œuvres, vol. xix, p. 23.) “When economic development has resulted in the transformation of society even despite itself, then the weak and the strong will alike disappear. There will only be workers; and industrial solidarity, and a guarantee that their products will be sold, will tend to make them equal both in capacity and wealth.” (Ibid., p. 18.)