Max Stirner

Lore & Background

Stirner was the only child of Lutheran parents; his father died of tuberculosis when he was an infant. After his mother remarried, he was raised in West Prussia. He studied at the University of Berlin, attending Hegel's lectures on the history of philosophy, philosophy of religion, and subjective spirit, and later studied at the University of Erlangen alongside Ludwig Feuerbach. He obtained a teaching certificate but failed to secure a permanent academic post, instead teaching at a school for young girls while writing his major work.

Reader's Guide

Stirner's significance lies in his radical individualist philosophy, which rejected all forms of authority—including state, property rights, natural rights, religion, capitalism, communism, humanism, and nationalism—as constraints on the individual. His concept of the 'egoist' urged individuals to act freely according to their own desires, unbound by artificial truths like law or morality. He influenced a wide range of movements, including nihilism, existentialism, postmodernism, individualist anarchism, post-anarchism, and even fascists and right-libertarians. His work also impacted anarcho-communists and post-left anarchists, with some anarchist groups in Glasgow using his 'Union of egoists' as a basis for organizing. Stirner was anti-capitalist and pro-labour, arguing that the state rests on the slavery of labor and that free competition is not truly free without equal means. His legacy remains contested, with interpretations ranging from socialist to individualist, but his critique of authority continues to resonate.

Did You Know?

• Stirner's pen name was a nickname referencing the size of his forehead.
• The most often reproduced portrait of Stirner is a cartoon drawn from memory by Friedrich Engels.
• His wedding to Marie Dähnhardt used copper rings because they forgot to buy wedding rings.
• Stirner translated Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations into German.