To be free means a man who enjoys the use of his reason and his faculties, who is not blinded by passion, constrained or driven by fear, or deceived by erroneous opinions. The civilised labourer who gives his best effort for a bit of bread, who builds a palace and sleeps in a stable, who weaves rich fabrics and dresses in rags, and who produces everything and does without everything, is not free. The employer for whom he works does not become his comrade by the exchange of salaries and services which takes place between them but rather his enemy. The peasant who leases the land, the manufacturer who borrows capital, the taxpayer who pays tolls, duties, patent and license fees, personal and property taxes, etc., and the deputy who reinforces them all act neither intelligently nor freely. Their enemies are the proprietors, the capitalists, and the government.
Property is the suicide of society.
The right of occupation being equal for all, possession varies according to the number of possessors, and property cannot be formed. The effect of labour being the same for all, property is lost in foreign exploitation and rent. The necessary conditions of commerce are the liberty of the contracting parties and the equivalence of the products exchanged. Now, since value is expressed by the amount of time and expense which each product costs and since liberty is inviolable, labourers should have equal wages as well as equal rights and duties. Products are brought only by products.