The Ego and Its Own is an 1844 work by Max Stirner. It presents a radically nominalist and individualist critique of, on the one hand, Christianity, nationalism and traditional morality, and on the other, humanism, utilitarianism, liberalism and much of the then-burgeoning socialist movement, advocating instead an amoral (although importantly not inherently immoral or antisocial) egoism. Ego emphasizes owness as self-description, past fixed conceptions of the Self and Other, through the recognition of power relations and self-discovery of mind. Johann Kaspar Schmidt (1806-1856), also known as Max Stirner, was a German philosopher who is often considered as one of the pioneers in anarchism, nihilism, existentialism, and postmodernism, and one of the many people who Karl Marx wrote an entire book on just to publicly criticize denounce.

The Ego and Its Own: The Case of The Individual Against Authority (Radical Reprint)

Max Stirner

Pattern Books

Claimed repeatedly to be the most radical book ever written, The Ego And Its Own throws down a challenge to thousands of years of religious, philosophical and political depreciation of the individual. Criticising all doctrines and beliefs that demand the interests of the individual be subordinated to those of God, state, humanity, society, or some other fiction, Stirner declared war on all creeds that threatened individuality. In doing so, he championed a form of amoral egoism which still provokes cries of horror from moralists of right and left, religious and secular. The classic, from one of the founding fathers of anarchist thought, and a passionate defence of the individual against all forms of authority.

The Ego And Its Own: The Case Of The Individual Against Authority

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

Rebel Pr

The Unique and Its Property

Johann Kaspar Schmidt (aka Max Stirner) wrote this trailblazing political text in 1845. It is a statement that the individual is the measure of all things and establishes the foundation that existentialism, egoism, and nihilism are built on. Every group, every collectivity, demands collaboration with a set of rules and expectation, with a morality. Stirner provokes us to acknowledge our own capacity, as well as the capacities of those around us. Previously only available in English through a translation from 1907 (which tragically titled the book The Ego and his Own)--a translation that removed some of the biting humor and occasional crudities that make Stirner more fun to read--this translation by Wolfi Landstreicher corrects that, updates the language in general, and removes the confusion involved with using terms that have changed in meaning in the intervening years. From the translators introduction: I made this translation for those who rebel against all that is held sacred, against every society, every collectivity, every ideology, every abstraction that various authorities, institutions, or even other individuals try to impose on them as a "higher power," for those who know how to loot from a book like this, to take from it those conceptual tools and weapons that they can use in their own defiant, laughing, mocking self-creation, to rise up above and against the impositions of the mass. In other words I did this translation for those who know how to treat a book not as a sacred text to either be followed or hermeneutically dissected, but as an armory or a toolbox from which to take whatever will aid them in creating their lives, their enjoyments. This new version of Wolfi's translation includes an index (indices are good, we want more!) and a gorgeous cover that refutes many of the expected associations with this book.

lulu.com

The Unique and Its Property brings to the world a radical view: egoism, the notion that the individual is the measure of all things. Max Stirner's opus first published in 1845. In the first new English-language translation since 1907. The Unique and Its Property brings to the world a radical view: egoism, the notion that the individual is the measure of all things. Max Stirner's opus first published in 1845. In the first new English-language translation since 1907, egoist anarchist author and historian Wolfi Landstreicher has brought forward both the form and the intent of Stirner's work. This edition delivers every "occasional crudity" and all the "playful ferocity" that the German original possesses.

Fifty years sooner or later can make little difference in the case of a book so revolutionary as this.It saw the light when a so-called revolutionary movement was preparing in men's minds, which agitation was, however, only a disturbance due to desires to participate in government, and to govern and to be governed, in a manner different to that which prevails. The "revolutionists" of 1848 were bewitched with an idea. They were not at all the masters of ideas. Most of those who since that time have prided themselves upon being revolutionists have been and are likewise but the bondmen of an idea,-that of the different lodgment of authority.The temptation is, of course, present to attempt an explanation of the central thought of this work; but such an effort appears to be unnecessary to one who has the volume in his hand. The author's care in illustrating his meaning shows that he realized how prone the possessed man is to misunderstand whatever is not moulded according to the fashions in thinking. The author's learning was considerable, his command of words and ideas may never be excelled by another, and he judged it needful to develop his argument in manifold ways. So those who enter into the spirit of it will scarcely hope to impress others with the same conclusion in a more summary manner. Or, if one might deem that possible after reading Stirner, still one cannot think that it could be done so surely. The author has made certain work of it, even though he has to wait for his public; but still, the reception of the book by its critics amply proves the truth of the saying that one can give another arguments, but not understanding. The system-makers and system-believers thus far cannot get it out of their heads that any discourse about the nature of an ego must turn upon the common characteristics of egos, to make a systematic scheme of what they share as a generality. The critics inquire what kind of man the author is talking about. They repeat the question: What does he believe in? They fail to grasp the purport of the recorded answer: "I believe in myself"; which is attributed to a common soldier long before the time of Stirner. They ask, What is the principle of the self-conscious egoist,-the Einzige? To this perplexity Stirner says: Change the question; put "who?" instead of "what?" and an answer can then be given by naming him!

The Ego and His Own

Createspace

From the introduction: Max Stirner's 1844 masterwork, Der Einzige und sein Eigenthum (The Unique and Its Property), is one of the most subversive, radical and extreme texts in all of history. It can also be described as one of the most misread, misinterpreted and misunderstood books in the history of modern Western thought. This should not be unexpected. Subversive, radical and extreme texts will always obtain hostile receptions from those targeted by their critiques, whether the critiques are accurate and justified or not.The book is rather simply - though very cleverly - written with very little use of technical terminology. And Stirner goes out of his way in an attempt to use common language wherever possible, though he often does so very creatively and idiosyncratically. It is also a fairly demanding text for anyone (including nearly every contemporary reader) who is unfamiliar with the cultural background within which it was conceived, written and published. It is possible for it to be read and appreciated without knowledge of this background, however the prospect of adequate understanding - not only of the central points but also their extensive implications - definitely recedes the less a reader is familiar with topics like nominalism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, analytical and dialectical logic, and critiques of religion, ontology, epistemology, ideology and language that were current in Stirner's day.From the moment Stirner's text first appeared, it directly and fundamentally challenged every religion, philosophy and ideology. It didn't just politely challenge every existing historical religion, philosophy and ideology, which would already have been enough to have made its author many enemies. It also blatantly and scathingly challenged every existing contemporary religion, philosophy and ideology of the day.

Stirner's Critics

LBC Books & CAL Press

Johann Kaspar Schmidt (aka Max Stirner) wrote this trailblazing political text in 1845. It is a statement that the individual is the measure of all things and establishes the foundation that existentialism, egoism, and nihilism are built on. Every group, every collectivity, demands collaboration with a set of rules and expectation, with a morality. Stirner provokes us to acknowledge our own capacity, as well as the capacities of those around us. 
Previously only available in English through a translation from 1907 (which tragically titled the book The Ego and his Own)--a translation that removed some of the biting humor and occasional crudities that make Stirner more fun to read--this translation by Wolfi Landstreicher corrects that, updates the language in general, and removes the confusion involved with using terms that have changed in meaning in the intervening years. From the translators introduction: I made this translation for those who rebel against all that is held sacred, against every society, every collectivity, every ideology, every abstraction that various authorities, institutions, or even other individuals try to impose on them as a "higher power," for those who know how to loot from a book like this, to take from it those conceptual tools and weapons that they can use in their own defiant, laughing, mocking self-creation, to rise up above and against the impositions of the mass. In other words I did this translation for those who know how to treat a book not as a sacred text to either be followed or hermeneutically dissected, but as an armory or a toolbox from which to take whatever will aid them in creating their lives, their enjoyments. 
 This new version of Wolfi's translation includes an index (indices are good, we want more!) and a gorgeous cover that refutes many of the expected associations with this book.

Ardent Press

Max Stirner's The Ego and Its Own is striking and distinctive in both style and content. First published in 1844, Stirner's distinctive and powerful polemic sounded the death-knell of left Hegelianism, with its attack on Ludwig Feuerbach, Bruno and Edgar Bauer, Moses Hess and others. It also constitutes an enduring critique of both liberalism and socialism from the perspective of an extreme eccentric individualism. Karl Marx was only one of many contemporaries provoked into a lengthy rebuttal of Stirner's argument. Stirner has been portrayed, variously, as a precursor of Nietzsche (both stylistically and substantively), a forerunner of existentialism and as an individualist anarchist.

Active Distribution

“Some call it The Anarchists’ Bible, others call it The Billionaires’ Bible”—Benjamin R. Tucker “A veritable Breviary of Destruction, a striking and dangerous book.”—New York Times FIRST NEW ENGLISH-LANGUAGE TRANSLATION SINCE 1907. The Unique and Its Property brings to the world a radical view: egoism, the notion that the individual is the measure of all things. Max Stirner’s opus was first published in Germany in 1844. In 1907 Benjamin R. Tucker published the first English-language translation of Der Einzige und sein Eigenthum, carried out by Steven T. Byington and titled The Ego and His Own. Every edition of Stirner’s book since that time has been a reproduction or revision of the Byington translation—until now. In the first new English-language translation since 1907, egoist anarchist author and historian Wolfi Landstreicher has brought forward both the form and the intent of Stirner’s work. Where Byington downplayed or missed Stirner’s more biting criticisms and his humor, this new edition delivers every “occasional crudity” and all the “playful ferocity” found in the original German. Every group demands loyalty, adherence to their notion of right and wrong, and most of all opposition to the out-group. The Unique and Its Property is an antidote to moralists of the sacred and the secular alike. It is an illuminating torch to light the lonely path of the intrepid individual, not incidentally also setting ablaze every prevailing politic and philosophy.

Underworld Amusements

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Max Stirner. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Max Stirner

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Max Stirner. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Ego and Its Own: The Case of The Individual Against Authority (Radical Reprint)

The Ego And Its Own: The Case Of The Individual Against Authority

The Unique and Its Property

The Unique and Its Property

The Unique and Its Property

The Ego and His Own

Stirner's Critics

The Unique and Its Property

The Ego and His Own

The Unique and Its Property