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Individualist anarchism in Europe proceeded from the roots laid by
William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous for ...
Woodcock, George. 2004. '' Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements''. Broadview Press. p. 20. and soon expanded and diversified through Europe, incorporating influences from individualist anarchism in the United States. Individualist anarchism is a tradition of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasize the
individual An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own Maslow ...
and his or her
will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems."What do I mean by individualism? I mean by individualism the moral doctrine which, relying on no dogma, no tradition, no external determination, appeals only to the individual conscience
''Mini-Manual of Individualism'' by Han Ryner
"I do not admit anything except the existence of the individual, as a condition of his sovereignty. To say that the sovereignty of the individual is conditioned by Liberty is simply another way of saying that it is conditioned by itself.""Anarchism and the State" in ''Individual Liberty'' While most American individualist anarchists advocate mutualism, a libertarian socialist form of market socialism, or a free-market socialist form of
classical economics Classical economics, classical political economy, or Smithian economics is a school of thought in political economy that flourished, primarily in Britain, in the late 18th and early-to-mid 19th century. Its main thinkers are held to be Adam Smith ...
, European individualist anarchists are pluralists who advocate anarchism without adjectives and synthesis anarchism, ranging from anarcho-communist to mutualist economic types. Early European individualist anarchism was influenced by many philosophers, including Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Max Stirner and
Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural su ...
. Proudhon was an early pioneer of
anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...
as well as of the important individualist anarchist current of mutualism. Stirner became a central figure of individualist anarchism through the publication of his seminal work '' The Ego and Its Own'' which is considered to be "a founding text in the tradition of individualist anarchism". The
philosophy of Max Stirner Johann Kaspar Schmidt (25 October 1806 – 26 June 1856), known professionally as Max Stirner, was a German post-Hegelian philosopher, dealing mainly with the Hegelian notion of social alienation and self-consciousness. Stirner is often seen as ...
supports the individual doing exactly what he pleases, taking no notice of God, state, or moral rules. To Stirner, rights were '' spooks'' in the mind and held that society does not exist but "the individuals are its reality". Stirner supported property by force of might rather than moral right, advocated self-assertion and foresaw union of egoists drawn together by respect for each other's self-ownership. Thoreau's emphasis on the promotion of
simple living Simple living refers to practices that promote simplicity in one's lifestyle. Common practices of simple living include reducing the number of possessions one owns, depending less on technology and services, and spending less money. Not only is ...
, environmental stewardship and
civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...
were influential in European individualist anarchists. Influential European individualist anarchists include Albert Libertad,
Anselme Bellegarrigue Anselme Bellegarrigue (23 March 1813, Monfort – ca. 1869, Central America) was a French individualist anarchist. He participated in the French Revolution of 1848, was author and editor of ''Anarchie, Journal de l'Ordre'' and ''Au fait ! Au fait ! ...
,
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
, Émile Armand, Lev Chernyi, John Henry Mackay,
Han Ryner Jacques Élie Henri Ambroise Ner (7 December 1861 – 6 February 1938), also known by the pseudonym Han Ryner, was a French individualist anarchist philosopher and activist and a novelist. He wrote for publications such as ''L'Art social ...
,
Adolf Brand Gustav Adolf Franz Brand (14 November 1874 – 2 February 1945) was a German writer, egoist anarchist, and pioneering campaigner for the acceptance of male bisexuality and homosexuality. Early life Adolf Brand was born on 14 November 1874 in Be ...
, Miguel Giménez Igualada,
Renzo Novatore Abele Rizieri Ferrari (May 12, 1890 – November 29, 1922), better known by the pen name Renzo Novatore, was an Italian individualist anarchist, illegalist and anti-fascist poet, philosopher and militant, now mostly known for his posthumously pu ...
and
Michel Onfray Michel Onfray (; born 1 January 1959) is a French writer and philosopher with a hedonistic, epicurean and atheist worldview. A highly-prolific author on philosophy, he has written over 100 books. His philosophy is mainly influenced by such thinke ...
.Onfray says in an interview "L'individualisme anarchiste part de cette logique. Il célèbre les individualités...Dans cette période de libéralisme comme horizon indépassable, je persiste donc à plaider pour l'individu
Interview des lecteurs : Michel Onfray Par Marion Rousset, 1er avril 2005
"Au-delà, l'éthique et la politique de Michel Onfray font signe vers l'anarchisme individualiste de la Belle Epoque qui est d'ailleurs une de ses références explicites
"Individualité et rapports à l'engagement militant Individualite et rapports a l engageme".. par : Pereira Irène
An important tendency within European individualist anarchism in general is the emphasis on individual subjective exploration and defiance of social conventions. Individualist anarchist philosophy attracted "amongst artists, intellectuals and the well-read, urban middle classes in general".Richard Parry. ''The Bonnot Gang: The Story of the French Illegalists''
/ref>
Murray Bookchin Murray Bookchin (January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. A pioneer in the environmental movement, Bookchin formulated and developed the theory of social ec ...
describes a lot of individualist anarchism as people who "expressed their opposition in uniquely personal forms, especially in fiery tracts, outrageous behavior, and aberrant lifestyles in the cultural ghettos of fin de siecle New York, Paris, and London. As a credo, individualist anarchism remained largely a bohemian lifestyle, most conspicuous in its demands for sexual freedom ('free love') and enamored of innovations in art, behavior, and clothing". In this way, free love currents and other radical lifestyles such as
naturism Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...
had popularity among individualist anarchists. Other important currents common within European individual anarchism include free love,"Voluntary non-submission. Spanish individualist anarchism during dictatorship and the second republic (1923–1938)" by Xavier Diez
illegalism"Parallel to the social, collectivist anarchist current there was an individualist one whose partisans emphasized their individual freedom and advised other individuals to do the same. Individualist anarchist activity spanned the full spectrum of alternatives to
authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
society, subverting it by undermining its way of life facet by facet." Thus theft,
counterfeiting To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...
, swindling, and robbery became a way of life for hundreds of individualists, as it was already for countless thousands of proletarians. The wave of anarchist bombings and assassinations of the 1890s ( Auguste Vaillant, Ravachol, Émile Henry,
Sante Caserio Sante Geronimo Caserio (; 8 September 187316 August 1894) was an Italian anarchist and the assassin of Marie François Sadi Carnot, President of the French Third Republic. Caserio was born in Motta Visconti, Lombardy. On 24 June 1894, he fatally s ...
) and the practice of illegalism from the mid-1880s to the start of the First World War ( Clément Duval, Pini, Marius Jacob, the Bonnot Gang) were twin aspects of the same proletarian offensive, but were expressed in an individualist practice, one that complemented the great collective struggles against capital."
and
freethought Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...
.Xavier Diez. ''El anarquismo individualista en España (1923–1939)'' Virus Editorial. 2007. pg. 152
/ref>


Early influences


William Godwin

William Godwin was an individualist anarchist and
philosophical anarchist Philosophical anarchism is an anarchist school of thought which focuses on intellectual criticism of authority, especially political power, and the legitimacy of governments. The American anarchist and socialist Benjamin Tucker coined the term '' ...
who was influenced by the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment,"Anarchism", '' Encarta Online Encyclopedia'' 2006 (UK version) and developed what many consider the first expression of modern anarchist thought. Godwin was, according to
Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activis ...
, "the first to formulate the political and economical conceptions of anarchism, even though he did not give that name to the ideas developed in his work."Peter Kropotkin
"Anarchism"
, '' Encyclopædia Britannica'', 1910
Godwin advocated extreme individualism, proposing that all cooperation in labor be eliminated.Godwin, William
". (2006). In Britannica Concise Encyclopaedia. Retrieved December 7, 2006, from '' Encyclopædia Britannica'' Online.
Godwin, a utilitarian, believed that not all individuals are of equal value, with some of us "of more worth and importance' than others depending on our utility in bringing about social good. Godwin believed that the person whose life was the most conducive to the general good should be favored, eschewing equal rights. Godwin opposed government because it infringes on the individual's right to "private judgement" to determine which actions most maximize utility, but also objected to all authority over the individual's judgement. This aspect of Godwin's philosophy, minus the utilitarianism, was developed into a more extreme form later by Stirner. Godwin even opposed individuals performing together in orchestras, writing in '' Political Justice'' that "everything understood by the term co-operation is in some sense an evil." The only apparent exception to this opposition to cooperation is the spontaneous association that may arise when a society is threatened by violent force. One reason he opposed cooperation is he believed it to interfere with an individual's ability to be benevolent for the greater good. Godwin opposes the idea of government, but wrote that a
minimal state A night-watchman state, or minarchy, whose proponents are known as minarchists, is a model of a state that is limited and minimal, whose functions depend on libertarian theory. Right-libertarians support it only as an enforcer of the non-aggres ...
is a present "necessary evil" that would become increasingly irrelevant and powerless by the gradual spread of knowledge. He expressly opposed democracy, fearing oppression of the individual by the majority (though he preferred democracy to dictatorship). Godwin supported individual ownership of property, defining it as "the empire to which every man is entitled over the produce of his own industry." But he also suggested that individuals give each other their surplus property when the other needed it, without involving trade (e.g. ''
gift economy A gift economy or gift culture is a system of exchange where valuables are not sold, but rather given without an explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards. Social norms and customs govern giving a gift in a gift culture; although there ...
''). Thus, while people have the right to
private property Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property and personal property, which is owned by a state entity, and from collective or ...
, they ''should'' give it away as enlightened
altruists Altruism is the principle and moral practice of concern for the welfare and/or happiness of other human beings or animals, resulting in a quality of life both material and spiritual. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core asp ...
. Godwin explained this approach stating, " ery man has a right to that, the exclusive possession of which being awarded to him, a greater sum of benefit or pleasure will result than could have arisen from its being otherwise appropriated." Yet to Godwin, benevolence was not to be enforced but instead a matter of free individual "private judgement." He did not advocate a community of goods or assert collective ownership as is embraced in communism, but his belief that individuals ought to share with those in need was influential on the later development of anarchist communism. Godwin's political views were diverse and do not perfectly agree with any of the ideologies that claim his influence; writers of the '' Socialist Standard'', organ of the
Socialist Party of Great Britain The Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB) is a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1904 as a split from the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), it advocates using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes and oppos ...
, consider Godwin both an individualist and a communist;"William Godwin, Shelly and Communism" by ALB, The Socialist Standard anarcho-capitalist Murray Rothbard did not regard Godwin as an individualist, referring to him as the "founder of communist anarchism";Rothbard, Murray.
Edmund Burke, Anarchist
."
and historian Albert Weisbord considers him an individualist anarchist without reservation. Some writers see a conflict between Godwin's advocacy of "private judgement" and utilitarianism, as he says that ethics requires that individuals give their surplus property to each other resulting in an egalitarian society, but, at the same time, he insists that all things be left to individual choice. Many of Godwin's views changed over time, as noted by
Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activis ...
.


Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon was the first philosopher to label himself an "anarchist"."Anarchism"
, BBC Radio 4 program,
In Our Time In Our Time may refer to: * ''In Our Time'' (1944 film), a film starring Ida Lupino and Paul Henreid * ''In Our Time'' (1982 film), a Taiwanese anthology film featuring director Edward Yang; considered the beginning of the "New Taiwan Cinema" * ''In ...
, Thursday December 7, 2006. Hosted by
Melvyn Bragg Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg, (born 6 October 1939), is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is best known for his work with ITV as editor and presenter of ''The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010), and for the BBC Radio 4 documenta ...
of the BBC, with John Keane, Professor of Politics at University of Westminster,
Ruth Kinna Ruth Ellen Kinna (born March 1961) is a professor of political philosophy at Loughborough University, working in the Department of Politics, History and International Relations. Since 2007 she has been the editor of the journal ''Anarchist Stud ...
, Senior Lecturer in Politics at
Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...
, and
Peter Marshall Peter Marshall may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Marshall (entertainer) (born 1926), American game show host of ''The Hollywood Squares'', 1966–1981 * Peter Marshall (author, born 1939) (1939–1972), British novelist whose works include ''Th ...
, philosopher and historian.
Some consider Proudhon to be an individualist anarchist, while others regard him to be a
social anarchist Social anarchism is the branch of anarchism that sees individual freedom as interrelated with mutual aid.Suissa, Judith (2001). "Anarchism, Utopias and Philosophy of Education". ''Journal of Philosophy of Education'' 35 (4). pp. 627–646. . ...
. Some commentators reject this, noting his preference for association in large industries, rather than individual control. Nevertheless, he was influential among American individualists; in the 1840s and 1850s, Charles A. Dana, and
William B. Greene William Batchelder Greene (April 4, 1819 – May 30, 1878) was a 19th-century individualist anarchist, Unitarian minister, soldier, and promoter of free banking in the United States. Greene was a member of the First International. Biography ...
introduced Proudhon's works to the United States. Greene adapted Proudhon's mutualism to American conditions and introduced it to
Benjamin R. Tucker Benjamin Ricketson Tucker (; April 17, 1854 – June 22, 1939) was an American individualist anarchist and libertarian socialist.Martin, James J. (1953)''Men Against the State: The Expositers of Individualist Anarchism in America, 1827–1908''< ...
. Proudhon opposed government privilege that protects capitalist, banking and land interests, and the accumulation or acquisition of property (and any form of
coercion Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...
that led to it) which he believed hampers competition and concentrates wealth. Proudhon favored the right of individuals to retain the product of their labor as their own property, but believed that all other property was illegitimate. Thus, he saw private property as both essential to liberty and a road to tyranny, the former when it resulted from labor and was required for labor and the latter when it resulted in/from exploitation (profit, interest, rent, tax). He generally termed the former "possession" and the latter "property." For large-scale industry, he supported workers associations to replace wage labor and opposed land ownership. Proudhon maintained that workers should retain the entirety of what they produce, and that monopolies on credit and land are the forces that prohibit this. He advocated an economic system he called mutualism that included possession and exchange of private property but without profit. Joseph Déjacque explicitly rejected Proudhon's philosophy, instead preferring anarchist-communism, asserting directly to Proudhon in a letter that "it is not the product of his or her labor that the worker has a right to, but to the satisfaction of his or her needs, whatever may be their nature." An individualist rather than
anarchist communist Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains re ...
, Proudhon said that "communism...is the very denial of society in its foundation..." and famously declared that " property is theft!" in reference to his rejection of ownership rights to land being granted to a person who is not using that land. After Déjacque and others split from Proudhon, the relationship between individualists, and anarcho-communists was characterized by various degrees of antagonism and harmony. For example, individualists like Tucker at once translated and reprinted the works of collectivists like Mikhail Bakunin while rejecting the economic aspects of collectivism and communism as incompatible with anarchist ideals.


Mutualism

Mutualism is an anarchist school of thought which can be traced to the writings of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who envisioned a society where each person might possess a means of production, either individually or collectively, with trade representing equivalent amounts of labor in the free market. Integral to the scheme was the establishment of a mutual-credit bank which would lend to producers at a minimal interest rate only high enough to cover the costs of administration. Mutualism is based on a labor theory of value which holds that when labour or its product is sold, in exchange it ought to receive goods or services embodying "the amount of labor necessary to produce an article of exactly similar and equal utility". Some mutualists believe that if the state did not intervene, individuals would receive no more income than that in proportion to the amount of labor they exert as a result of increased competition in the marketplace. Mutualists oppose the idea of individuals receiving an income through loans, investments and rent as they believe these individuals are not labouring. Some of them argue that if state intervention ceased, these types of incomes would disappear due to increased competition in capital. Although Proudhon opposed this type of income, he expressed that he "never meant to ..forbid or suppress, by sovereign decree, ground rent and interest on capital. I believe that all these forms of human activity should remain free and optional for all". Mutualists argue for conditional titles to land, whose private ownership is legitimate only so long as it remains in use or occupation (which Proudhon called "possession"). Proudhon's mutualism supports labor-owned cooperative firms and associations for "we need not hesitate, for we have no choice ..it is necessary to form an ASSOCIATION among workers ..because without that, they would remain related as subordinates and superiors, and there would ensue two ..castes of masters and wage-workers, which is repugnant to a free and democratic society" and so "it becomes necessary for the workers to form themselves into democratic societies, with equal conditions for all members, on pain of a relapse into feudalism". As for capital goods (man-made and non-land, means of production), mutualist opinion differs on whether these should be common property and commonly managed public assets or private property in the form of worker cooperatives, for as long as they ensure the worker's right to the full product of their labor, mutualists support markets and property in the product of labor, differentiating between capitalist
private property Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property and personal property, which is owned by a state entity, and from collective or ...
(productive property) and
personal property property is property that is movable. In common law systems, personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In civil law systems, personal property is often called movable property or movables—any property that can be moved fr ...
(private property). Following Proudhon, mutualists are libertarian socialists who consider themselves to part of the
market socialist Market socialism is a type of economic system involving the public, cooperative, or social ownership of the means of production in the framework of a market economy, or one that contains a mix of worker-owned, nationalized, and privately owned ...
tradition and the socialist movement. However, some contemporary mutualists outside the classical anarchist tradition abandoned the labor theory of value and prefer to avoid the term ''socialist'' due to its association with state socialism throughout the 20th century. Nonetheless, those contemporary mutualists "still retain some cultural attitudes, for the most part, that set them off from the
libertarian right Right-libertarianism,Rothbard, Murray (1 March 1971)"The Left and Right Within Libertarianism" ''WIN: Peace and Freedom Through Nonviolent Action''. 7 (4): 6–10. Retrieved 14 January 2020.Goodway, David (2006). '' Anarchist Seeds Beneath the ...
. Most of them view mutualism as an alternative to capitalism, and believe that capitalism as it exists is a statist system with exploitative features"."A Mutualist FAQ: A.4. Are Mutualists Socialists?"
Mutualist: Free-Market Anti-Capitalism. . Retrieved 27 September 2020.
Mutualists have distinguished themselves from state socialism and do not advocate
state ownership State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownershi ...
over the means of production. Benjamin Tucker said of Proudhon that "though opposed to socializing the ownership of capital, Proudhon aimed nevertheless to socialize its effects by making its use beneficial to all instead of a means of impoverishing the many to enrich the few ..by subjecting capital to the natural law of competition, thus bringing the price of its own use down to cost".


Max Stirner

Johann Kaspar Schmidt, better known as Max Stirner (the
pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...
he adopted from a schoolyard nickname he had acquired as a child because of his high brow, ''Stirn'' in German), was a German philosopher who ranks as one of the literary fathers of
nihilism Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...
, existentialism, post-modernism and
anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...
, especially of individualist anarchism. Stirner's main work is '' The Ego and Its Own'', also known as ''The Ego and His Own'' (''Der Einzige und sein Eigentum'' in German, which translates literally as ''The Only One and his Property''). This work was first published in 1844 in Leipzig, and has since appeared in numerous editions and translations. Authors, philosophers and artists have cited, quoted or otherwise referred to Stirner. They include Albert Camus in '' The Rebel'' (the section on Stirner is omitted from the majority of English editions including
Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...
's), Benjamin Tucker,
Dora Marsden Dora Marsden (5 March 1882 – 13 December 1960) was an English suffragette, editor of literary journals, and philosopher of language. Beginning her career as an activist in the Women's Social and Political Union, Marsden eventually broke ...
,
Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the ...
, Georg Brandes, Rudolf Steiner,
John Cowper Powys John Cowper Powys (; 8 October 187217 June 1963) was an English philosopher, lecturer, novelist, critic and poet born in Shirley, Derbyshire, where his father was vicar of the parish church in 1871–1879. Powys appeared with a volume of verse ...
, Émile Armand,
Han Ryner Jacques Élie Henri Ambroise Ner (7 December 1861 – 6 February 1938), also known by the pseudonym Han Ryner, was a French individualist anarchist philosopher and activist and a novelist. He wrote for publications such as ''L'Art social ...
,
Renzo Novatore Abele Rizieri Ferrari (May 12, 1890 – November 29, 1922), better known by the pen name Renzo Novatore, was an Italian individualist anarchist, illegalist and anti-fascist poet, philosopher and militant, now mostly known for his posthumously pu ...
, Karl Marx, Robert Anton Wilson, Italian individualist anarchist Frank Brand, Russian-American philosopher
Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
,
Bob Black Robert Charles Black Jr. (born January 4, 1951) is an American anarchist and author. He is the author of the books '' The Abolition of Work and Other Essays'', ''Beneath the Underground'', ''Friendly Fire'', ''Anarchy After Leftism'', and ''Def ...
, antiartist Marcel Duchamp, several writers of the
Situationist International The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...
, and Max Ernst, who titled a 1925 painting ''L'unique et sa propriété''. ''The Ego and Its Own'' has seen periodic revivals of popular, political and academic interest, based around widely divergent translations and interpretations—emphasizing psychological or political views. Today, many ideas associated with
post-left anarchy Contemporary anarchism within the history of anarchism is the period of the anarchist movement continuing from the end of World War II and into the present. Since the last third of the 20th century, anarchists have been involved in anti-globalisat ...
's criticism of ideology and uncompromising individualism are clearly related to Stirner's.
Individualist feminism Individualist feminism is a libertarian feminist tradition that emphasizes individualism, personal autonomy, choice, consent, freedom from state-sanctioned discrimination against women, and equality under the law. It also opposes what is consi ...
claims him as a pioneer, since his objection to any absolute concept also counts gender roles as "spooks". His ideas were also adopted by
post-anarchism Contemporary anarchism within the history of anarchism is the period of the anarchist movement continuing from the end of World War II and into the present. Since the last third of the 20th century, anarchists have been involved in anti-globalisat ...
, with
Saul Newman Saul Newman (born 22 March 1972) is a British political theorist who writes on post-anarchism. He is professor of political theory at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Newman took up the term "post-anarchism" as a general term for poli ...
largely agreeing with many of Stirner's criticisms of
classical anarchism The history of anarchism is as ambiguous as anarchism itself. Scholars find it hard to define or agree on what anarchism means, which makes outlining its history difficult. There is a range of views on anarchism and its history. Some feel anarc ...
, including his rejection of revolution and
essentialism Essentialism is the view that objects have a set of attributes that are necessary to their identity. In early Western thought, Plato's idealism held that all things have such an "essence"—an "idea" or "form". In ''Categories'', Aristotle sim ...
.


Egoism

Stirner's philosophy, sometimes called "egoism", is the most extreme form of IA. He was a Hegelian philosopher whose "name appears with familiar regularity in historically-orientated surveys of anarchist thought as one of the earliest and best-known exponents of IA." Stirner does not recommend that the individual try to eliminate the state but simply exploit it to further the individual's interests. He says that the egoist rejects pursuit of devotion to "a great idea, a good cause, a doctrine, a system, a lofty calling", saying that the egoist has no political calling but rather "lives themselves out" without regard to "how well or ill humanity may fare thereby." Stirner held that the only limitation on the rights of the individual is his power to obtain what he desires. He proposes that most commonly accepted social institutions—including the notion of State, property as a right, natural rights in general, and the very notion of society—were mere ''spooks'' in the mind. Stirner wanted to "abolish not only the state but also society as an institution responsible for its members." He advocated self-assertion and foresaw "associations of egoists" where respect for ruthlessness drew people together. Even murder is permissible "if it is right for me." Stirner claimed that property comes about through might: "Whoever knows how to take, to defend, the thing, to him belongs property." "What I have in my power, that is my own. So long as I assert myself as holder, I am the proprietor of the thing." "I do not step shyly back from your property, but look upon it always as my property, in which I respect nothing. Pray do the like with what you call my property!". His concept of "egoistic property" not only rejects moral restraint on how one obtains and uses ''things'', but includes other people as well. His embrace of egoism is in stark contrast to Godwin's
altruism Altruism is the principle and moral practice of concern for the welfare and/or happiness of other human beings or animals, resulting in a quality of life both material and spiritual. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core as ...
. Stirner was opposed to communism, seeing it as a form of authority over the individual. In Russia, IA inspired by Stirner combined with an appreciation for Friedrich Nietzsche to attract a small following of bohemian artists and intellectuals such as Lev Chernyi, as well as a few lone wolves who found self-expression in crime and violence.Levy, Carl.
Anarchism
. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2007. 2009-10-31.
They rejected organizing, believing that only unorganized individuals were safe from coercion and domination. They claimed this belief to be fundamental to anarchism. This type of IA inspired anarcho-feminist
Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the ...
Though Stirner's philosophy is individualist, it has influenced some
libertarian communists Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains res ...
and anarcho-communists. "For Ourselves Council for Generalized Self-Management" discusses Stirner and speaks of a "communist egoism", which is said to be a "synthesis of individualism and collectivism", and says that "greed in its fullest sense is the only possible basis of communist society." Forms of libertarian communism such as situationism are influenced by Stirner. Anarcho-communist
Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the ...
was influenced by both Stirner and
Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activis ...
and blended their philosophies together in her own.


Development by country


France

Proudhon and Stirner stimulated a strong response in France. An early important example was
Anselme Bellegarrigue Anselme Bellegarrigue (23 March 1813, Monfort – ca. 1869, Central America) was a French individualist anarchist. He participated in the French Revolution of 1848, was author and editor of ''Anarchie, Journal de l'Ordre'' and ''Au fait ! Au fait ! ...
. He participated in the French Revolution of 1848, was author and editor of ''Anarchie, Journal de l'Ordre'' and ''Au fait ! Au fait ! Interprétation de l'idée démocratique'' and wrote the important early
Anarchist Manifesto ''Anarchist Manifesto'' (or ''The World's First Anarchist Manifesto'') is a work by Anselme Bellegarrigue, notable for being the first manifesto of anarchism. It was written in 1850, two years after his participation in the French Revolution of 18 ...
in 1850. Catalan historian of individualist anarchism Xavier Diez reports that during his travels in the United States "he at least contacted (Henry David) Thoreau and, probably (Josiah) Warren." Jean-Baptiste Louiche, Charles Schæffer and Georges Deherme edited the individualist anarchist publication ''Autonomie Individuelle'' that ran from 1887 to 1888. Intellectuals such as Albert Libertad, André Lorulot, Émile Armand, Victor Serge,
Zo d'Axa Alphonse Gallaud de la Pérouse (28 May 1864 – 30 August 1930), better known as Zo d'Axa (), was a French adventurer, anti-militarist, satirist, journalist, and founder of two of the most legendary French magazines, ''L'EnDehors'' and ''La Feuil ...
and
Rirette Maîtrejean Rirette Maîtrejean was the pseudonym of Anna Estorges (born 14 August 1887; died 11 June 1968). She was a French people, French individualist anarchism, individualist anarchist born in TulleRichard Parry. ''The Bonnot Gang: The Story of the Frenc ...
extended the theory in France's main individualist anarchist journal, '' L'Anarchie'' in 1905 and later in ''
L'En-Dehors ''L'En-Dehors'' (, ''The Outside'') is a French individualist anarchist newspaper, created by Zo d'Axa in 1891. History Numerous activists contributed to the paper, including Jean Grave, Bernard Lazare, Albert Libertad, Octave Mirbeau, Saint-Pol- ...
''. Outside this journal,
Han Ryner Jacques Élie Henri Ambroise Ner (7 December 1861 – 6 February 1938), also known by the pseudonym Han Ryner, was a French individualist anarchist philosopher and activist and a novelist. He wrote for publications such as ''L'Art social ...
wrote ''Petit Manuel individualiste'' (1903). French individualist circles displayed a strong sense of personal libertarianism and experimentation.
Anarchist naturism Anarcho-naturism, also referred to as anarchist naturism and naturist anarchism, appeared in the late 19th century as the union of anarchist and naturist philosophies. In many of the alternative communities established in Britain in the early 190 ...
and free love concepts influenced individualist anarchists circles in France and Spain and expanded to the rest of anarchism. Henri Zisly, Émile Gravelle and
Georges Butaud Georges Butaud (6 June 1868 – 26 February 1926) was a French individualist anarchist and veganism activist. He advocated naturist anarchism and founded an early vegan restaurant in Paris. Biography Butaud was born on 6 June 1868 in Marchien ...
promoted
anarchist naturism Anarcho-naturism, also referred to as anarchist naturism and naturist anarchism, appeared in the late 19th century as the union of anarchist and naturist philosophies. In many of the alternative communities established in Britain in the early 190 ...
. Butaud was an individualist "partisan of the '' milieux libres'', publishing "Flambeau" ("an enemy of authority") in 1901 in Vienna. He focused on creating and participating in anarchist colonies. "In this sense, the theoretical positions and the vital experiences of french individualism are deeply iconoclastic and scandalous, even within libertarian circles. The call of nudist
naturism Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...
, the strong defense of
birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
methods, the idea of "
unions of egoists Max Stirner's idea of the "Union of egoists" (german: Verein von Egoisten) was first expounded in ''The Ego and Its Own''. A union of egoists is understood as a voluntary and non-systematic association which Stirner proposed in contradistinction t ...
" with the sole justification of sexual practices, that will try to put in practice, not without difficulties, will establish a way of thought and action, and will result in sympathy within some, and a strong rejection within others."


Illegalism

IllegalismThe "Illegalists"
, by Doug Imrie (published by Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed)
developed primarily in France, Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland during the early 20th century as an outgrowth of Stirner's IA. Illegalists typically did not seek moral basis for their actions, recognizing only the reality of "might" rather than "right". They advocated illegal acts to satisfy personal desires, not a larger ideal,Parry, Richard. The Bonnot Gang. Rebel Press, 1987. p. 15 although some committed crimes as a form of
direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...
or propaganda of the deed . Influenced by Stirner's egoism as well as Proudhon's "property is theft", Clément Duval and Marius Jacob proposed the theory of la individual reclamation. Illegalism first rose to prominence among a generation of Europeans inspired by the unrest of the 1890s. Ravachol, Émile Henry, Auguste Vaillant, and Caserio committed daring crimes in anarchism's name."Pre-World War I France was the setting for the only documented anarchist revolutionary movement to embrace all illegal activity as revolutionary practice. Pick-pocketing, theft from the workplace, robbery, confidence scams, desertion from the armed forces, you name it, illegalist activity was praised as a justifiable and necessary aspect of class struggle
"Illegalism" by Rob los Ricos
France's Bonnot Gang was the most famous group to embrace illegalism.


Albert Libertad

Joseph Albert, better known as Albert Libertad or Libertad, was an
individualist anarchist Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their Will (philosophy), will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems."What do I mean by individualism? I mean ...
militant and writer from France who edited the influential anarchist publication '' L'Anarchie''. During the Dreyfus affair, he founded the Anti-Militarist League (1902) "and, along with Paraf-Javal, founded the "Causeries populaires", public discussions that met with great interest throughout the country, contributing to the opening of a bookstore and various clubs in different quarters of Paris". On the occasion of July 14 anniversary, '' L'Anarchie'' "printed and distributed the manifesto "The Bastille of Authority" in one hundred thousand copies. Along with feverish activity against the social order, Libertad was usually also organizing feasts, dances and country excursions, in consequence of his vision of anarchism as the " joy of living" and not as militant sacrifice and death instinct, seeking to reconcile the requirements of the individual (in his need for autonomy) with the need to destroy authoritarian society. In fact, Libertad overcame the false dichotomy between individual revolt and social revolution, stressing that the first is simply a moment of the second, certainly not its negation. Revolt can only be born from the specific tension of the individual, which, in expanding itself, can only lead to a project of social liberation. For Libertad, anarchism doesn't consist in living separated from any social context in some cold ivory tower or on some happy communitarian isle, nor in living in submission to social roles, putting off the moment when one puts one's ideas into practice to the bitter end, but in living as anarchists here and now, without any concessions, in the only way possible: by rebelling. And this is why, in this perspective, individual revolt and social revolution no longer exclude each other, but rather complement each other."


Émile Armand

Émile Armand was an influential French
individualist anarchist Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their Will (philosophy), will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems."What do I mean by individualism? I mean ...
, free love, polyamory,
pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
and
antimilitarist Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (especi ...
propagandist and activist. He wrote for such anarchist magazines as '' L'Anarchie'' and ''
L'En-Dehors ''L'En-Dehors'' (, ''The Outside'') is a French individualist anarchist newspaper, created by Zo d'Axa in 1891. History Numerous activists contributed to the paper, including Jean Grave, Bernard Lazare, Albert Libertad, Octave Mirbeau, Saint-Pol- ...
''. His thought was mainly influenced by such thinkers as Stirner, Benjamin Tucker, and American Transcendentalism. Outside France he was an important influence in Spanish anarchist movements, above all in the individualist publications ''
Iniciales Individualist anarchism in Europe proceeded from the roots laid by William GodwinGeorge Woodcock, Woodcock, George. 2004. ''Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements''. Broadview Press. p. 20. and soon expanded and diversified thr ...
'', ''Al Margen'' and ''Nosotros''. He defended the Ido constructed language over
Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...
with the help of José Elizalde. Armand contrasted his IA with social anarchist currents, rejecting revolution. He argued that waiting for revolution meant delaying the enjoyment of liberty until the masses gained awareness and will. Instead he advocated living under one's own conditions in the present time, revolting against social conditioning in daily life and living with those with an affinity to oneself in accord to the values and desire they share. He says the individualist is a "presentist" and "he could not, without bad reasoning and illogic, think of sacrificing his being, or his having, to the coming of a state of things he will not immediately enjoy". He applies this rule to friendship, love, sexual encounters and economic transactions. He adheres to an ethics of
reciprocity Reciprocity may refer to: Law and trade * Reciprocity (Canadian politics), free trade with the United States of America ** Reciprocal trade agreement, entered into in order to reduce (or eliminate) tariffs, quotas and other trade restrictions on ...
and advocated propagandizing one's values to enable association with others to improve the chances of self-realization. Armand advocated free love,
naturism Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...
and polyamory in what he termed ''la camaraderie amoureuse''.Émile Armand and la camaraderie amourouse
''Revolutionary sexualism and the struggle against jealousy.'' by Francis Rousin
He wrote many propagandist articles on this subject advocating not only a vague free love but also multiple partners, which he called "plural love." "'The camaraderie amoureuse thesis,' he explained, 'entails a free contract of association (that may be annulled without notice, following prior agreement) reached between anarchist individualists of different genders, adhering to the necessary standards of sexual hygiene, with a view toward protecting the other parties to the contract from certain risks of the amorous experience, such as rejection, rupture, exclusivism, possessiveness, unicity, coquetry, whims, indifference, flirtatiousness, disregard for others, and prostitution.'".


Han Ryner

Han Ryner was a French
individualist anarchist Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their Will (philosophy), will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems."What do I mean by individualism? I mean ...
philosopher and activist and a novelist. He wrote for publications such as ''L'Art social'', ''L'Humanité nouvelle'', ''L'Ennemi du Peuple'', ''L'Idée Libre de Lorulot''; and ''L'En dehors'' and ''L'Unique''. His thought is mainly influenced by
stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century Common Era, BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asser ...
and
epicureanism Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings by Epi ...
. He defines individualism as "the moral doctrine which, relying on no dogma, no tradition, no external determination, appeals only to the individual conscience.". He distinguishes "conquering and aggressive egoists who proclaim themselves to be individualists" from what he called "harmonic individualists" who respected others. He admired
Epicurus Epicurus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκουρος ; 341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. Influenced ...
' temperance and that "he showed that very little was needed to satisfy hunger and thirst, to defend oneself against heat and the cold. And he liberated himself from all other needs, that is, almost all the desires and all the fears that enslave men.". He celebrated how Jesus "lived free and a wanderer, foreign to any social ties. He was the enemy of priests, external cults and, in general, all organizations."


Postwar and contemporary times

French individualist anarchists grouped behind Émile Armand, published ''
L'Unique ''L'Unique'' was a French individualist anarchist publication edited by Émile Armand. It ran from 1945 to 1956 and reached 110 numbers. Other writers include Gérard de Lacaze-Duthiers, Manuel Devaldès, Lucy Sterne, Thérèse Gaucher and ot ...
'' after World War II. ''
L'Unique ''L'Unique'' was a French individualist anarchist publication edited by Émile Armand. It ran from 1945 to 1956 and reached 110 numbers. Other writers include Gérard de Lacaze-Duthiers, Manuel Devaldès, Lucy Sterne, Thérèse Gaucher and ot ...
'' went from 1945 to 1956 with a total of 110 numbers. Gérard de Lacaze-Duthiers (January 26, 1876 – May 3, 1958) was a French writer, art critic,
pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
and anarchist. Lacaze-Duthiers, an art critic for the Symbolist review journal ''
La Plume ''La Plume'' was a French bi-monthly literary and artistic review. The magazine was set up in 1889 by Léon Deschamps, who edited it for ten years and was succeeded as editor by Karl Boès from 1899 to 1914. Its offices were at number 31 rue Bo ...
'', was influenced by
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
, Nietzsche and Max Stirner. His (1906) ''L'Ideal Humain de l'Art'' helped found the 'Artistocracy' movement – a movement advocating life in the service of art. His ideal was an anti-elitist aestheticism: "All men should be artists". Together with
André Colomer André Colomer (1886–1931) was a French poet, anarchist and later Communist activist. Works * ''Roland Malmos'' (novel) * ''Le Réfractaire'' (drama in three acts) * ''Bonimini contre le fascisme'' * ''Répression de l'anarchisme en Russie ...
and
Manuel Devaldes Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manu ...
, he founded ''L'Action d'Art'', an anarchist literary journal, in 1913. He was a contributor to the '' Anarchist Encyclopedia''. After World War II he contributed to the journal ''
L'Unique ''L'Unique'' was a French individualist anarchist publication edited by Émile Armand. It ran from 1945 to 1956 and reached 110 numbers. Other writers include Gérard de Lacaze-Duthiers, Manuel Devaldès, Lucy Sterne, Thérèse Gaucher and ot ...
''. Within the
synthesist An analog (or analogue) synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a variety of va ...
anarchist organization, the
Fédération Anarchiste ''Fédération Anarchiste'' (Anarchist Federation) is an anarchist federation in France, Belgium and Switzerland. It is a member of the International of Anarchist Federations since the latter's establishment in 1968. History The ''Fédér ...
, there existed an individualist anarchist tendency alongside anarcho-communist and anarchosyndicalist currents. Individualist anarchists participating inside the Fédération Anarchiste included
Charles-Auguste Bontemps Charles-Auguste Bontemps (February 9, 1893 – October 14, 1981) was a French individualist anarchist, pacifist, freethinker and naturist activist and writer. Life and works Bontemps was born on February 9, 1893, in the Nièvre department of Fra ...
, Georges Vincey and
André Arru André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation o ...
. The new base principles of the Fédération Anarchiste were written by Charles-Auguste Bontemps and the anarcho-communist Maurice Joyeux which established an organization with a plurality of tendencies and autonomy of federated groups organized around synthesist principles. Charles-Auguste Bontemps was a prolific author mainly in the anarchist, freethinking, pacifist and naturist press of the time. His view on anarchism was based around his concept of "Social Individualism" on which he wrote extensively. He defended an anarchist perspective which consisted on "a collectivism of things and an individualism of persons." In 2002, an anarchist, Libertad organized a new version of ''
L'En-Dehors ''L'En-Dehors'' (, ''The Outside'') is a French individualist anarchist newspaper, created by Zo d'Axa in 1891. History Numerous activists contributed to the paper, including Jean Grave, Bernard Lazare, Albert Libertad, Octave Mirbeau, Saint-Pol- ...
'', collaborating with ''
Green Anarchy Green anarchism (or eco-anarchism"green anarchism (also called eco-anarchism)" in ''An Anarchist FAQ'' by various authors.) is an anarchist school of thought that puts a particular emphasis on ecology and environmental issues. A green anarchist ...
'' and including contributors such as
Lawrence Jarach Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparato ...
,
Patrick Mignard Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick o ...
,
Thierry Lodé Thierry Lodé (born 1956 in Tarbes) is a French biologist and professor of evolutionary ecology in a CNRS lab at the University of Rennes 1. His work deals mainly with sexual conflict Sexual conflict or sexual antagonism occurs when the two ...
, Ron Sakolsky, and Thomas Slut. Articles about capitalism, human rights, free love and social fights were published. ''The EnDehors'' continues now as a website, EnDehors.net. The prolific contemporary French philosopher
Michel Onfray Michel Onfray (; born 1 January 1959) is a French writer and philosopher with a hedonistic, epicurean and atheist worldview. A highly-prolific author on philosophy, he has written over 100 books. His philosophy is mainly influenced by such thinke ...
has been writing from an individualist anarchist perspective influenced by Nietzsche, French
post-structuralists Post-structuralism is a term for philosophical and literary forms of theory that both build upon and reject ideas established by structuralism, the intellectual project that preceded it. Though post-structuralists all present different critiques ...
thinkers such as
Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and how ...
and
Gilles Deleuze Gilles Louis René Deleuze ( , ; 18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volu ...
; and Greek classical schools of philosophy such as the Cynics and Cyrenaics. Among the books which best expose Onfray's individualist anarchist perspective include ''La sculpture de soi : la morale esthétique'' (The sculpture of oneself: aesthetic morality), ''La philosophie féroce : exercices anarchistes'', ''La puissance d'exister'' and ''Physiologie de Georges Palante, portrait d'un nietzchéen de gauche'' which focuses on French individualist philosopher
Georges Palante Georges Toussaint Léon Palante (20 November 1862 – 5 August 1925) was a French philosopher and sociologist. Palante advocated aristocratic individualist ideas similar to Friedrich Nietzsche and Arthur Schopenhauer. He was opposed to Émile Dur ...
.


Italy

In Italy, individualist anarchism had a strong tendency towards illegalism and violent propaganda by the deed, perhaps more extreme than in France"anarco-individualismo" in italian anarchopedia
/ref> which emphazised criticism of organization be it anarchist or of other type. Acts included notorious magnicides carried out or attempted by individualists
Giovanni Passannante Giovanni Passannante (; February 19, 1849 – February 14, 1910) was an Italian anarchist who attempted to assassinate king Umberto I of Italy, the first attempt against Savoy monarchy since its origins. Originally condemned to death, his sentence ...
,
Sante Caserio Sante Geronimo Caserio (; 8 September 187316 August 1894) was an Italian anarchist and the assassin of Marie François Sadi Carnot, President of the French Third Republic. Caserio was born in Motta Visconti, Lombardy. On 24 June 1894, he fatally s ...
, Michele Angiolillo, Luigi Lucheni, and
Gaetano Bresci Gaetano Bresci (; November 10, 1869May 22, 1901) was an Italian-American anarchist who assassinated King Umberto I of Italy on July 29, 1900. Bresci was the first European regicide not to be executed, as capital punishment in Italy had been a ...
who murdered king Umberto I. Caserio lived in France and later assassinated French president Sadi Carnot. The theoretical seeds of current Insurrectionary anarchism were laid out at the end of 19th century Italy combining IA criticism of permanent groups and organization with a socialist class struggle worldview."Essa trova soprattutto in America del Nord un notevole seguito per opera del Galleani che esprime una sintesi fra l'istanza puramente individualista di stampo anglosassone e americano (ben espressa negli scritti di Tucker) e quella profondamente socialista del movimento anarchico di lingua italiana. Questa commistione di elementi individualisti e comunisti – che caratterizza bene la corrente antiorganizzatrice – rappresenta lo sforzo di quanti avvertirono in modo estremamente sensibile l'invadente burocratismo che pervadeva il movimento operaio e socialista.
"anarchismo insurrezionale" in italian anarchopedia
This thought also motivated
Gino Lucetti Gino Lucetti (31 August 1900 – 17 September 1943) was an Italian anarchist and anti-fascist who attempted to assassinate the dictator Benito Mussolini in 1926. After World War I he was involved in many clashes and political brawls during the B ...
, Michele Schirru and Angelo Sbardellotto in attempting the assassination of
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
. Pietro Bruzzi published the journal ''L'Individualista'' in the 1920s alongside Ugo Fedeli and Francesco Ghezzi but who fell to fascist forces later. Pietro Bruzzi also collaborated with the Italian American individualist anarchist publication ''Eresia'' of New York City edited by Enrico Arrigoni.


Renzo Novatore

Renzo Novatore was influenced by Max Stirner, Friedrich Nietzsche,
Georges Palante Georges Toussaint Léon Palante (20 November 1862 – 5 August 1925) was a French philosopher and sociologist. Palante advocated aristocratic individualist ideas similar to Friedrich Nietzsche and Arthur Schopenhauer. He was opposed to Émile Dur ...
,
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
,
Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...
,
Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...
and
Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...
. He collaborated in numerous anarchist journals and participated in
futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...
avant-garde currents. He proclaimed "revolution is the fire of our will and a need of our solitary minds; it is an obligation of the libertarian aristocracy. To create new ethical values. To create new aesthetic values. To communalize material wealth. To individualize spiritual wealth. Because we violent celebralists and passional sentimentalists at the same time-understand and know that revolution is a necessity of the silent sorrow that suffers at the bottom and a need of the free spirits who suffer in the heights." He summarizes the three options in life as "The stream of slavery, the stream of tyranny, the stream of freedom! With revolution, the last of these streams needs to burst upon the other two and overwhelm them. It needs to create spiritual beauty, teach the poor the shame of their poverty, and the rich the shame of their wealth." These views justified his practice of illegalism and later active resistance to fascism. Novatore collaborated in the individualist anarchist journal ''Iconoclasta!'' alongside the young Stirnerist illegalist
Bruno Filippi Bruno Filippi (March 30, 1900 – September 7, 1919) was an Italian individualist anarchist writer and activist who collaborated in the Italian individualist anarchist magazine ''Iconoclasta!'' alongside Renzo Novatore. Life and writings Fi ...
''The rebel's dark laughter: the writings of Bruno Filippi''
/ref> Also a poet, Novatore belonged to the leftist section of the avant-garde movement of futurism, alongside others individualist anarchists such as
Dante Carnesecchi Dante Carnesecchi (1892–1921) was an Italian individualist anarchist Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their Will (philosophy), will over external determinants such as groups, society, tr ...
, Leda Rafanelli, Auro d'Arcola, and Giovanni Governato.


Post-war and contemporary times

In Italy, individualists anarchists during the Founding Congress of the
Italian Anarchist Federation The Italian Anarchist Federation ( it, Federazione Anarchica Italiana) is an Italian anarchist federation of autonomous anarchist groups all over Italy. The Italian Anarchist Federation was founded in 1945 in Carrara. It adopted an "Associative Pac ...
in 1945 were led by Cesare Zaccaria. During the 1965 IX Congress of the Italian Anarchist Federation in Carrara, a splinter group created the ''Gruppi di Iniziativa Anarchica''. In the 1970s, it was mostly composed of "veteran individualist anarchists with an orientation of pacifism,
naturism Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...
, etc,...". Egoism had a strong influence on insurrectionary anarchism, as can be seen in the work of Alfredo Bonanno and Michele Fabiani. Bonanno has written on Stirner in works such as ''Max Stirner'' and "Max Stirner und der Anarchismus". In the famous Italian insurrectionary anarchist anonymous essay, "At Daggers Drawn with the Existent, its Defenders and its False Critics" is "The workers who, during a wildcat strike, carried a banner saying, 'We are not asking for anything' understood that the defeat is in the claim itself ('the claim against the enemy is eternal'). There is no alternative but to take everything. As Stirner said: 'No matter how much you give them, they will always ask for more, because what they want is no less than the end of every concession'." Horst Fantazzini (March 4, 1939 Altenkessel, Saarland, West Germany–December 24, 2001, Bologna, Italy),"Horst Biography"
/ref> was an Italian-German
individualist anarchist Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their Will (philosophy), will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems."What do I mean by individualism? I mean ...
who pursued an illegalist lifestyle and practice until his death in 2001. He gained media notoriety mainly due to his many bank robberies through Italy and other countries. In 1999 the film ''
Ormai è fatta! ''Outlaw'' ( it, Ormai è fatta!) is a 1999 Italian drama film directed by Enzo Monteleone. It is based on the book by the Italian anarchist Horst Fantazzini. It was entered into the 21st Moscow International Film Festival. Plot On July 23, 1973, ...
'' appeared based on his life.


Spain

Spanish individualist anarchists was influenced by American individualist anarchism but mainly it was connected to the French currents. At the turn of the 20th century people such as Dorado Montero, Ricardo Mella, Federico Urales, Mariano Gallardo and J. Elizalde translated French and American individualists. Important in this respect were also magazines such as ''La Idea Libre'', ''
La Revista Blanca ''La Revista Blanca'' was a Spanish individualist anarchist magazine of sociology and arts published in Madrid by Joan Montseny (Federico Urales) and Teresa Mañé (Soledad Gustavo) from 1898 to 1905 and in Barcelona from 1 June 1923 till 15 Aug ...
'', ''Etica'', ''Iniciales'', ''Al margen'', ''Estudios'' and ''Nosotros''. The most influential thinkers there were Stirner, Émile Armand and
Han Ryner Jacques Élie Henri Ambroise Ner (7 December 1861 – 6 February 1938), also known by the pseudonym Han Ryner, was a French individualist anarchist philosopher and activist and a novelist. He wrote for publications such as ''L'Art social ...
. Just as in France,
Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...
,
anationalism Anationalism ( eo, sennaciismo) is a term originating from the community of Esperanto speakers. It denotes a range of cosmopolitan political concepts that combine some or all of the following tendencies and ideas: *radical antinationalism, *unive ...
, anarcho-naturism and free love were present. Later Armand and Ryner started publishing in the Spanish individualist press. Armand's concept of amorous camaraderie had an important role in motivating polyamory as realization of the individual. Recently historian Xavier Diez wrote on the subject in ''El anarquismo individualista en España: 1923–1938'' y ''Utopia sexual a la premsa anarquista de Catalunya. La revista Ética-Iniciales(1927–1937)'' deals with free love thought in ''Iniciales''. Diez reports that the Spanish individualist anarchist press was widely read by members of anarcho-communist groups and by members of the anarcho-syndicalist trade union CNT. There were also the cases of prominent individualist anarchists such as Federico Urales and Miguel Giménez Igualada who were members of the CNT and J. Elizalde who was a founding member and first secretary of the Iberian Anarchist Federation. Federico Urales was an important Catalan individualist anarchist who edited ''
La Revista Blanca ''La Revista Blanca'' was a Spanish individualist anarchist magazine of sociology and arts published in Madrid by Joan Montseny (Federico Urales) and Teresa Mañé (Soledad Gustavo) from 1898 to 1905 and in Barcelona from 1 June 1923 till 15 Aug ...
''.Xavier Diez. L'anarquisme Individualista a Espanya 1923–1938
/ref> The individualist anarchism of Urales was influenced by
Auguste Comte Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte (; 19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense ...
and Charles Darwin. He saw science and reason as a defense against blind servitude to authority. He was critical of influential individualist thinkers such as Nietzsche and Stirner for promoting an asocial egoist individualism and instead promoted an individualism with solidarity as a way to guarantee social equality and harmony. In the subject of organization, he was highly critical of
anarcho-syndicalism Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and thus control influence in b ...
as he saw it plagued by too much bureaucracy and thought that it tended towards reformism. He favored small groups based on ideological alignment. He supported the establishment of the Iberian Anarchist Federation in 1927 and participated in it. In 2000, the Ateneo Libertario Ricardo Mella, Ateneo libertario Al Margen, Ateneu Enciclopèdic Popular, Ateneo Libertario de Sant Boi, Ateneu Llibertari Poble Sec y Fundació D'Estudis Llibertaris i Anarcosindicalistes republished Émile Armand's writings on free love and individualist anarchism in a compilation titled ''Individualist anarchism and Amorous camaraderie''.


Miguel Giménez Igualada

An important Spanish individualist anarchist was Miguel Giménez Igualada, who wrote the lengthy theory book called ''Anarchism'' espousing his individualist anarchism. Between October 1937 and February 1938 he starts as editor of the individualist anarchist magazine ''Nosotros'',"La insumisión voluntaira: El anarquismo individualista español durante la dictadura y la segunda república(1923–1938) por Xavier Diez
in which many works of
Han Ryner Jacques Élie Henri Ambroise Ner (7 December 1861 – 6 February 1938), also known by the pseudonym Han Ryner, was a French individualist anarchist philosopher and activist and a novelist. He wrote for publications such as ''L'Art social ...
and Émile Armand appear and will also participate in the publishing of another individualist anarchist maganize ''Al Margen: Publicación quincenal individualista''. In his youth he engaged in
illegalist Illegalism is a tendency of anarchism that developed primarily in France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland during the late 1890s and early 1900s as an outgrowth of individualist anarchism. Illegalists embrace criminality either openly or secretly ...
activities.Xavier Diez. ''L'ANARQUISME INDIVIDUALISTA A ESPANYA 1923–1938''
/ref> His thought was deeply influenced by Max Stirner, of which he was the main popularizer in Spain through his writings. He publishes and writes the preface to the fourth edition in Spanish of '' The Ego and Its Own'' from 1900. He will propose the creation of a union of egoists, which will be a Federation of Individualist Anarchists in Spain, but did not succeed. In 1956 publishes an extensive treatise on Stirner which he dedicates to fellow individualist anarchist Émile Armand Afterwards he will travel and live in Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico. In his major work ''Anarchism'' Igualada states that " humanism or anarchism,...for me are the same thing". He sees the anarchist as one who "does not accept the imposition of a thought on us and who does not allows one's own thought to be imposed over another brain, oppressing it...since anarchy is not for me a mere negation, but a twofold activity of consciousness; in the first instance a consciousness of the individual on its meaning within the human world, defending his personality against every external imposition; on a second instance, and here is present the whole great beauty of its ethic, it defends, stimulates and enhances the other's personality.... Igualada exposes a radical
pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
view when he thinks that "When I say that through war humanity will never find peace, I sustain my affirmation in the fact that those who are more peaceful are the least believers, and so...one can affirm that the day of happiness in which war (religiosity is bellicosity) is extirpated from consciousness, peace will exists in the home of men, and since from consciousness these beliefs will not be extracted but only through an act of transcendental education, our labor is not of killing, but of education having it well present that to educate is not in any case domestication.


Freethought

Freethought as a philosophical position and as activism was important in European individualist anarchism. "Anticlericalism, just as in the rest of the libertarian movement, in another of the frequent elements which will gain relevance related to the measure in which the (French) Republic begins to have conflicts with the church...Anti-clerical discourse, frequently called for by the French individualist
André Lorulot André Lorulot (born Georges André Roulot; 23 October 1885 – 11 March 1963) was a French individualist anarchist and freethinker Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs shou ...
, will have its impacts in ''Estudios'' (a Spanish individualist anarchist publication). There will be an attack on institutionalized religion for the responsibility that it had in the past on negative developments, for its irrationality which makes it a counterpoint of philosophical and scientific progress. There will be a criticism of proselitism and ideological manipulation which happens on both believers and agnostics.". This tendencies will continue in French individualist anarchism in the work and activism of
Charles-Auguste Bontemps Charles-Auguste Bontemps (February 9, 1893 – October 14, 1981) was a French individualist anarchist, pacifist, freethinker and naturist activist and writer. Life and works Bontemps was born on February 9, 1893, in the Nièvre department of Fra ...
and others. In the Spanish individualist anarchist magazine ''Ética'' and ''
Iniciales Individualist anarchism in Europe proceeded from the roots laid by William GodwinGeorge Woodcock, Woodcock, George. 2004. ''Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements''. Broadview Press. p. 20. and soon expanded and diversified thr ...
'' "there is a strong interest in publishing scientific news, usually linked to a certain
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
and anti-theist obsession, philosophy which will also work for pointing out the incompatibility between science and religion, faith and reason. In this way there will be a lot of talk on Darwin's theories or on the negation of the existence of the soul.".


Anarcho-naturism

Another important current, especially within French and Spanish"Proliferarán así diversos grupos que practicarán el excursionismo, el naturismo, el nudismo, la emancipación sexual o el esperantismo, alrededor de asociaciones informales vinculadas de una manera o de otra al anarquismo. Precisamente las limitaciones a las asociaciones obreras impuestas desde la legislación especial de la Dictadura potenciarán indirectamente esta especie de asociacionismo informal en que confluirá el movimiento anarquista con esta heterogeneidad de prácticas y tendencias. Uno de los grupos más destacados, que será el impulsor de la revista individualista '' Ética'' será el Ateneo Naturista Ecléctico, con sede en Barcelona, con sus diferentes secciones la más destacada de las cuales será el grupo excursionista Sol y Vida."[ "La insumisión voluntaria: El anarquismo individualista español durante la Dictadura y la Segunda República (1923–1938)" by Xavier Díez individualist anarchist groups was
naturism Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...
. Naturism promoted an ecological worldview, small ecovillages, and most prominently nudism as a way to avoid the artificiality of the industrial mass society of modernity. Naturist individualist anarchists saw the individual in his biological, physical and psychological aspects and avoided, and tried to eliminate, social determinations. An early influence in this vein was
Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural su ...
and his famous book '' Walden'' Important promoters of this were Henri Zisly and Émile Gravelle who collaborated in ''La Nouvelle Humanité'' followed by ''Le Naturien'', ''Le Sauvage'', ''L'Ordre Naturel'', & ''La Vie Naturelle''. "1855 – France: Émile Gravelle lives, Douai. Militant anarchist & naturalist. Published the review "L'État Naturel." Collaborated with Henri Zisly & Henri Beylie on "La Nouvelle Humanité", followed by "Le Naturien", "Le Sauvage", "L'Ordre Naturel", & "La Vie Naturelle."
The daily bleed
This relationship between
anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...
and
naturism Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...
was quite important at the end of the 1920s in Spain. "The linking role played by the 'Sol y Vida' group was very important. The goal of this group was to take trips and enjoy the open air. The Naturist athenaeum, 'Ecléctico', in Barcelona, was the base from which the activities of the group were launched. First ''Etica'' and then ''
Iniciales Individualist anarchism in Europe proceeded from the roots laid by William GodwinGeorge Woodcock, Woodcock, George. 2004. ''Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements''. Broadview Press. p. 20. and soon expanded and diversified thr ...
'', which began in 1929, were the publications of the group, which lasted until the Spanish Civil War. We must be aware that the naturist ideas expressed in them matched the desires that the libertarian youth had of breaking up with the conventions of the bourgeoisie of the time. That is what a young worker explained in a letter to 'Iniciales' He writes it under the odd pseudonym of 'silvestre del campo', (wild man in the country). "I find great pleasure in being naked in the woods, bathed in light and air, two natural elements we cannot do without. By shunning the humble garment of an exploited person, (garments which, in my opinion, are the result of all the laws devised to make our lives bitter), we feel there no others left but just the natural laws. Clothes mean slavery for some and tyranny for others. Only the naked man who rebels against all norms, stands for anarchism, devoid of the prejudices of outfit imposed by our money-oriented society."". "The relation between Anarchism and Naturism gives way to the Naturist Federation, in July 1928, and to the lV Spanish Naturist Congress, in September 1929, both supported by the Libertarian Movement. However, in the short term, the Naturist and Libertarian movements grew apart in their conceptions of everyday life. The Naturist movement felt closer to the Libertarian individualism of some French theoreticians such as Henri Ner than to the revolutionary goals proposed by some Anarchist organisations such as the FAI, ( Federación Anarquista Ibérica)".


Germany


Individualist anarchism and Friedrich Nietzsche

The thought of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche has been influential in individualist anarchism specifically in thinkers such as the French Émile Armand, the Italian
Renzo Novatore Abele Rizieri Ferrari (May 12, 1890 – November 29, 1922), better known by the pen name Renzo Novatore, was an Italian individualist anarchist, illegalist and anti-fascist poet, philosopher and militant, now mostly known for his posthumously pu ...
,''Toward the Creative Nothing''
by
Renzo Novatore Abele Rizieri Ferrari (May 12, 1890 – November 29, 1922), better known by the pen name Renzo Novatore, was an Italian individualist anarchist, illegalist and anti-fascist poet, philosopher and militant, now mostly known for his posthumously pu ...
the Russian Lev Chernyi, the Colombian Biofilo Panclasta, and also "translations of Nietzsche's writings in the United States very likely appeared first in ''Liberty'', the anarchist journal edited by Benjamin Tucker."


John Henry Mackay

In Germany, the Scottish-born German John Henry Mackay became the most important individualist anarchist propagandist. He fused Stirnerist egoism with the positions of Benjamin Tucker and translated Tucker into German. Two semi-fictional writings of his own ''
Die Anarchisten ''Die Anarchisten: Kulturgemälde aus dem Ende des XIX Jahrhunderts'' (''The Anarchists: A Picture of Civilization at the Close of the Nineteenth Century'') is a book by anarchist writer John Henry Mackay published in German and English in 1891. I ...
'' and ''
Der Freiheitsucher Der or DER may refer to: Places * Darkənd, Azerbaijan * Dearborn (Amtrak station) (station code), in Michigan, US * Der (Sumer), an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq * d'Entrecasteaux Ridge, an oceanic ridge in the south-west Pacific Oc ...
'' contributed to individualist theory, updating egoist themes with respect to the anarchist movement. His writing were translated into English as well. Mackay is also an important European early activist for LGBT rights.


Adolf Brand

Adolf Brand was a German writer, Stirnerist anarchist and pioneering
campaigner A civil society campaign is one that is intended to mobilize public support and use democratic tools such as lobbying in order to instigate social change. Civil society campaigns can seek local, national or international objectives. They can be r ...
for the acceptance of male
bisexuality Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...
and homosexuality. Brand published the world's first ongoing homosexual publication, '' Der Eigene'' in 1896. The name was taken from Stirner, who had greatly influenced the young Brand, and refers to Stirner's concept of "
self-ownership Self-ownership, also known as sovereignty of the individual or individual sovereignty, is the concept of property in one's own person, expressed as the moral or natural right of a person to have bodily integrity and be the exclusive controller ...
" of the individual. '' Der Eigene'' concentrated on cultural and scholarly material, and may have averaged around 1500 subscribers per issue during its lifetime. Contributors included Erich Mühsam,
Kurt Hiller Kurt Hiller (17 August 1885, Berlin – 1 October 1972, Hamburg) was a German essayist, lawyer, and expressionist poet. He was also a political (namely pacifist) journalist. Hiller came from a middle-class Jewish background. A communist, he ...
, John Henry Mackay (under the pseudonym Sagitta) and artists
Wilhelm von Gloeden Wilhelm Iwan Friederich August von Gloeden (September 16, 1856 – February 16, 1931), commonly known as Baron von Gloeden, was a German photographer who worked mainly in Italy. He is mostly known for his pastoral nude studies of Sicilian boy ...
,
Fidus Fidus was the pseudonym used by German illustrator, painter and publisher Hugo Reinhold Karl Johann Höppener (October 8, 1868 – February 23, 1948). He was a symbolist artist, whose work directly influenced the psychedelic style of graphi ...
and
Sascha Schneider Rudolph Karl Alexander Schneider, commonly known as Sascha Schneider (21 September 1870 – 18 August 1927), was a German painter and sculptor. Biography Schneider was born in Saint Petersburg in 1870. During his childhood, his family lived ...
. Brand contributed many poems and articles himself. Benjamin Tucker followed this journal from the United States.


Anselm Ruest and Salomo Friedlaender

''Der Einzige'' was the title of a German
individualist anarchist Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their Will (philosophy), will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems."What do I mean by individualism? I mean ...
magazine. It appeared in 1919, as a weekly, then sporadically until 1925 and was edited by cousins Anselm Ruest (pseud. for Ernst Samuel) and Mynona (pseud. for Salomo Friedlaender). Its title was adopted from the book ''Der Einzige und sein Eigentum'' (engl. trans. '' The Ego and Its Own'') by Max Stirner. Another influence was the thought of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The publication was connected to the local expressionist artistic current and the transition from it towards dada.


Russia

Individualist anarchism was one of the three categories of
anarchism in Russia Anarchism in Russia has its roots in the early mutual aid systems of the medieval republics and later in the popular resistance to the Tsarist autocracy and serfdom. Through the history of radicalism during the early 19th-century, anarchism de ...
, along with the more prominent anarchist communism and
anarcho-syndicalism Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and thus control influence in b ...
. The ranks of the Russian individualist anarchists were predominantly drawn from the
intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...
and the working class. For anarchist historian Paul Avrich "The two leading exponents of individualist anarchism, both based in Moscow, were Aleksei Alekseevich Borovoi and Lev Chernyi (Pavel Dmitrievich Turchaninov). From Nietzsche, they inherited the desire for a complete overturn of all values accepted by bourgeois societypolitical, moral, and cultural. Furthermore, strongly influenced by Max Stirner and Benjamin Tucker, the German and American theorists of individualist anarchism, they demanded the total liberation of the human personality from the fetters of organized society." Some Russian individualists anarchists "found the ultimate expression of their social alienation in violence and crime, others attached themselves to avant-garde literary and artistic circles, but the majority remained "philosophical" anarchists who conducted animated parlor discussions and elaborated their individualist theories in ponderous journals and books."


Lev Chernyi

Lev Chernyi was an important individualist anarchist involved in resistance against the rise to power of the Bolchevik Party. He adhered mainly to Stirner and the ideas of Benjamin Tucker. In 1907, he published a book entitled ''Associational Anarchism'', in which he advocated the "free association of independent individuals.". On his return from Siberia in 1917 he enjoyed great popularity among Moscow workers as a lecturer. Chernyi was also Secretary of the Moscow Federation of Anarchist Groups, which was formed in March 1917. He was an advocate "for the seizure of private homes", which was an activity seen by the anarchists after the October revolution as direct expropriation on the bourgoise. He died after being accused of participation in an episode in which this group bombed the headquarters of the Moscow Committee of the Communist Party. Although most likely not being really involved in the bombing, he might have died of torture. Chernyi advocated a Nietzschean overthrow of the values of bourgeois Russian society, and rejected the voluntary communes of anarcho-communist
Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activis ...
as a threat to the freedom of the individual. Scholars including Avrich and Allan Antliff have interpreted this vision of society to have been greatly influenced by the
individualist anarchist Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their Will (philosophy), will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems."What do I mean by individualism? I mean ...
s Max Stirner, and Benjamin Tucker. Subsequent to the book's publication, Chernyi was imprisoned in Siberia under the Russian
Czar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
ist regime for his revolutionary activities.


Alexei Borovoi

Alexei Borovoihttp://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=labadie;cc=labadie;view=toc;idno=2917084.0001.001 "Anarchism and Law." on Anarchism Pamphlets in the Labadie Collection was a professor of philosophy at Moscow University, "a gifted orator and the author of numerous books, pamphlets, and articles which attempted to reconcile individualist anarchism with the doctrines of syndicallism". He wrote among other theoretical works, ''Anarkhizm'' in 1918 just after the October revolution and ''Anarchism and Law''. For him "the chief importance is given not to Anarchism as the aim but to Anarchy as the continuous quest for the aim". He manifests there that "No social ideal, from the point of view of anarchism, could be referred to as absolute in a sense that supposes it's the crown of human wisdom, the end of social and ethical quest of man."


United Kingdom and Ireland

The English
Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
political theorist William Godwin was an important influence early influence as mentioned before. In the late 19th century individualist anarchists such as Wordsworth Donisthorpe, Joseph Hiam Levy, Joseph Greevz Fisher, John Badcock, Jr., Albert Tarn, and Henry Seymour were close to Tucker's magazine ''Liberty''. In the mid-1880s Seymour published a journal called ''The Anarchist''. and also later took a special interest in free love as he participated in the journal ''The Adult: A Journal for the Advancement of Freedom in Sexual Relationships''. "''The Serpent'', issued from London...the most prominent English-language egoist journal, was published from 1898 to 1900 with the subtitle 'A Journal of Egoistic Philosophy and Sociology'".McElroy, Wendy
"Benjamin Tucker and Liberty: A Bibliographical Essay by Wendy McElroy"
Philosopher and writer
Herbert Read Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read ...
wrote on Godwin and works such as ''To Hell With Culture'', ''The Paradox of Anarchism'' ''Philosophy of Anarchism'', ''Anarchy & Order; Poetry & Anarchism'' and ''My Anarchism''. Henry Meulen was notable for his support of free banking. Sidney Parker is a British egoist who wrote articles and edited anarchist journals from 1963 to 1993 such as ''Minus One'', ''Egoist'', and ''Ego''. Donald Rooum is an English anarchist
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
and writer with a long association with Freedom Press. Rooum stated that for his thought "The most influential source is Max Stirner. I am happy to be called a Stirnerite anarchist, provided 'Stirnerite' means one who agrees with Stirner's general drift, not one who agrees with Stirner's every word." '' An Anarchist FAQ'' reports that "From meeting anarchists in Glasgow during the Second World War, long-time anarchist activist and artist Donald Rooum likewise combined Stirner and anarcho-communism." In the hybrid of post-structuralism and anarchism called
post-anarchism Contemporary anarchism within the history of anarchism is the period of the anarchist movement continuing from the end of World War II and into the present. Since the last third of the 20th century, anarchists have been involved in anti-globalisat ...
the British
Saul Newman Saul Newman (born 22 March 1972) is a British political theorist who writes on post-anarchism. He is professor of political theory at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Newman took up the term "post-anarchism" as a general term for poli ...
has written a lot on Stirner and his similarities to post-structuralism. He writes:
Max Stirner's impact on contemporary political theory is often neglected. However in Stirner's political thinking there can be found a surprising convergence with poststructuralist theory, particularly with regard to the function of power. Andrew Koch, for instance, sees Stirner as a thinker who transcends the Hegelian tradition he is usually placed in, arguing that his work is a precursor poststructuralist ideas about the foundations of knowledge and truth."War on the State: Stirner and Deleuze's Anarchism"
by
Saul Newman Saul Newman (born 22 March 1972) is a British political theorist who writes on post-anarchism. He is professor of political theory at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Newman took up the term "post-anarchism" as a general term for poli ...
Newman has published several essays on Stirner. "War on the State: Stirner and Deleuze's Anarchism" and "Empiricism, pluralism, and politics in Deleuze and Stirner""Empiricism, pluralism, and politics in Deleuze and Stirner" by Saul Newman discusses what he sees are similarities between Stirner's thought and that of
Gilles Deleuze Gilles Louis René Deleuze ( , ; 18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volu ...
. In "Spectres of Stirner: a Contemporary Critique of Ideology" he discusses the conception of ideology in Stirner."Spectres of Stirner: a Contemporary Critique of Ideology"
/ref> In "Stirner and Foucault: Toward a Post-Kantian Freedom" he identifies similarities between Stirner and
Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and how ...
. Also he wrote "Politics of the ego: Stirner's critique of liberalism".


Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde, the Irish anarchist writer of the decadent movement, influenced individualist anarchists such as
Renzo Novatore Abele Rizieri Ferrari (May 12, 1890 – November 29, 1922), better known by the pen name Renzo Novatore, was an Italian individualist anarchist, illegalist and anti-fascist poet, philosopher and militant, now mostly known for his posthumously pu ...
and gained the admiration of Benjamin Tucker. In his important essay '' The Soul of Man Under Socialism'' from 1891 he defended socialism as the way to guarantee individualism and so he saw that "With the abolition of private property, then, we shall have true, beautiful, healthy Individualism. Nobody will waste his life in accumulating things, and the symbols for things. One will live. To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."The soul of man under Socialism
by
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
For anarchist historian George Woodcock "Wilde's aim in ''The Soul of Man under Socialism'' is to seek the society most favorable to the artist...for Wilde art is the supreme end, containing within itself enlightenment and regeneration, to which all else in society must be subordinated...Wilde represents the anarchist as aesthete." George Woodcock. ''Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements.'' 1962. (pg. 447) Woodocock finds that "The most ambitious contribution to literary anarchism during the 1890s was undoubtedly Oscar Wilde ''The Soul of Man under Socialism''" and finds that it is influenced mainly by the thought of William Godwin.


See also

* Individualist anarchism in France * Individualist anarchism in the United States


References


Bibliography

* Diez, Xavier ''El anarquismo individualista en España (1923–1939)''. Virus Editorial, 2007. * Parry, Richard. ''The Bonnot Gang: The Story Of The French Illegalists ''. Rebel Press, 1987. * Sonn, Richard D. ''Sex, Violence, and the Avant-Garde: Anarchism in Interwar France.'' Penn State Press. 2010. * Parvulescu, Constantin.
The individualist anarchist journal "Der Einzige" and the making of the radical Left in the early post-World War I Germany
'.

by
William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous for ...


by Pierre Joseph Proudhon
General Idea of the Revolution in the Nineteenth Century (1851)
by Pierre Joseph Proudhon
''The Ego and his own''
by Max Stirner
"Anarchist Individualism as a Life and Activity"
by Émile Armand
Mini-Manual of Individualism
by
Han Ryner Jacques Élie Henri Ambroise Ner (7 December 1861 – 6 February 1938), also known by the pseudonym Han Ryner, was a French individualist anarchist philosopher and activist and a novelist. He wrote for publications such as ''L'Art social ...

Voluntary non-submission. Spanish individualist anarchism during dictatorship and the second republic (1923–1938)
by Xavier Diez PDF in Spanish



by
Renzo Novatore Abele Rizieri Ferrari (May 12, 1890 – November 29, 1922), better known by the pen name Renzo Novatore, was an Italian individualist anarchist, illegalist and anti-fascist poet, philosopher and militant, now mostly known for his posthumously pu ...

"Han Ryner or the Social Thinking of an Individualist in the Early Part of the 20th Century" by Gérard Lecha
in French


Social Anarchism or Lifestyle Anarchism – An Unbridgeable Chasm
by
Murray Bookchin Murray Bookchin (January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. A pioneer in the environmental movement, Bookchin formulated and developed the theory of social ec ...

"A Sure Means to Pluck Joy Immediately: Destroy Passionately"
by
Zo d'Axa Alphonse Gallaud de la Pérouse (28 May 1864 – 30 August 1930), better known as Zo d'Axa (), was a French adventurer, anti-militarist, satirist, journalist, and founder of two of the most legendary French magazines, ''L'EnDehors'' and ''La Feuil ...

"Down With the Law!"
by Albert Libertad
"Why I Was a Burglar"
by Marius Jacob
"Who Are We? What Do We want?" (1911
by
André Lorulot André Lorulot (born Georges André Roulot; 23 October 1885 – 11 March 1963) was a French individualist anarchist and freethinker Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs shou ...

"Anarchism and Individualism"
by
Georges Palante Georges Toussaint Léon Palante (20 November 1862 – 5 August 1925) was a French philosopher and sociologist. Palante advocated aristocratic individualist ideas similar to Friedrich Nietzsche and Arthur Schopenhauer. He was opposed to Émile Dur ...

''Anarchist of Love: The Secret Life of John Henry Mackay''
by Hubert Kennedy


External links


L'En Dehors
current French individualist anarchist magazine and website which reclaims the inheritance of
Zo d'Axa Alphonse Gallaud de la Pérouse (28 May 1864 – 30 August 1930), better known as Zo d'Axa (), was a French adventurer, anti-militarist, satirist, journalist, and founder of two of the most legendary French magazines, ''L'EnDehors'' and ''La Feuil ...
's and Émile Armand's ''
L'En-Dehors ''L'En-Dehors'' (, ''The Outside'') is a French individualist anarchist newspaper, created by Zo d'Axa in 1891. History Numerous activists contributed to the paper, including Jean Grave, Bernard Lazare, Albert Libertad, Octave Mirbeau, Saint-Pol- ...
''
Han Ryner blog



NovAtore.it Sito dedicato alla memoria di Renzo Novatore
mostly in Italian with a small section in English and includes many of Novatore's works translated into English
Émile Armand archive

"E. Armand and "la camaraderie amoureuse" Revolutionary sexualism and the struggle against jealousy" by Francis Ronsin


biography and some articles by Armand







{{DEFAULTSORT:Individualist Anarchism In Europe Anarchism in Europe Individualism Individualist anarchism