On Stirner, Who Was No Anarchist

From Notes toward an International Libertarian Eco-Socialism by Javier Sethness

I was dismayed to learn recently that the nihilist anti-humanist Max Stirner (real name Johann Kaspar Schmidt, 1806–1856) is still influential among, and even considered acceptable by, some in the anarchist milieu. In this light, let us clarify matters.

Separation Perfected: Domination and Alienation in Stirner and Debord

From CounterPunch

We have allowed the American ruling class to abstract themselves almost entirely from their substantive political positions and practices. So deeply engrossed are we in their branding as products of consumption, in their spectacular representations, that we seem to have no capacity to grapple critically with the situation we find ourselves in. The moment calls for careful reengagement with French philosopher Guy Debord’s book The Society of the Spectacle, as well as one of its most important, if unsung, precursors, German philosopher (perhaps anti-philosopher) Max Stirner’s book The Ego and Its Own. These masterworks of critical theory, separated by more than one hundred years (Debord’s book was first published in 1967, Stirner’s in 1844), offer vital tools for helping us make sense of the present moment and for consciously cultivating an “ethos of non-domination.”

Schedule of the Mexico City Anarchist Bookfair, Feb. 17

From Federación Anarquista de México, February 1, 2024

Full program of the 13th edition of the Anarchist Book and Publications Fair convened by the FAM.

We start with many activities for this next book fair. You can't afford to miss it.

The Anarchism and Philosophy of Max Stirner with Acid Horizon

From YouTube

Here, Will and Adam from Acid Horizon engage in a discussion on a simultaneously well known and largely overlooked enigmatic figure in the history of German philosophy, idealism and its discontents, and even insurrectionary anarchism, Max Stirner. The discussion provides both an in-depth look at Stirner’s core philosophical commitments and the intellectual milieu within which and against which he toiled. What is at stake in Stirner’s The Unique and its Property? How are we to understand Stirner’s heterodoxical approach to anarchy? And, what can Stirner provide to us as we confront those apparatuses that seem to render us docile everyday?

History of Egoist Anarchism

From Center for a Stateless Society Faruk Pak

Egoist philosophy generally refers to any school of thought that considers the self (i.e. one’s own personal interests) to be the primary source of ethical standards and action, superseding external factors such as social norms or other-regarding principles. As a result, egoist anarchist schools of thought tend to emphasize personal liberation and non-subordination so that individuals may pursue their own ends without sacrificing them for others or vice versa.

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