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Reviews

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Bernd Kast (ed.) 2009. Die Kritik Stirners und die Kritik an Stirner.
Der Einzige. Jahrbuch der Max Stirner Gesellschaft.
Leipzig, Verlag Max Stirner Archiv/edition unica. 274 pages.
ISBN 978-3-933287-85-4

Max Stirners caustic criticisms and provoking thoughts have been inspirational for
both anarchists and archists, time and again. In 2008, an international symposium on
what Stirner criticised and what he was criticised for was held in Lisbon. Now, most
of the contributions have been published (in German) in Der Einzige, the yearbook
of the Max Stirner Society. Its a pity that not all the talks were included scholars of
anarchism will especially miss G.L. Luekens thoughts on Stirners influence on Gustav
Landauers communitarianism but what made it into the book is interesting
nonetheless. The collection is framed by two musings about the destructiveness of
Stirners anthropology. At the outset, J. Barata-Moura reflects on the annihilation not
only of all external limitations, but also of the ego itself as it consumes its life. A.B.
Rukavisnikovs introduction to the Russian edition of The Ego and Its Own concludes
the collection, also concentrating on Stirners special view of humankind. In between,
five articles examine the criticism Stirner delivered, while two focus on the criticism
he attracted, and one sets out to criticise his anti-coercionism. This piece is extraordinary: N. Psarros argues that both Aristotle and Stirner are anti-coercionists, since they
believe man to be able to realise the truth by himself thus man must not be coerced
into accepting morality. So far so good, but then Psarros alleges that Stirner is not
compatible with anarchy (in its prima facie weird definition as a chaotic tyranny of
possessed communists) and that his Union of Egoists is bound to fail, because
affected individuals have a twisted perspective; instead Psarros pleads for coercion
through officers free of affection, allegedly known for their objectivity and fairness!
Anarchists would rightly condemn the view that bureaucracy is less tyrannical than
anarchy, but can nonetheless gain inspiration from the concept of anti-coercionism.
Most of the articles in the yearbook deal with issues Stirner criticised. F.-C. Hansel
points at the Feuerbachian core of Stirners anti-religious stance, according to which
humans invent their own gods. He concludes that Stirner would approve of todays
tendency of individualistic religious syncretism, but speculations like that are always
problematic; in his examination of Stirners attitudes toward ancient and modern
philosophies, J. Spiessens asserts that Stirner was much more radical than Feuerbach
and viewed religion as necessarily oppressive. Thus religion, together with modern
concepts of mind and metaphysics, should be abandoned. Also, the liberal notion of
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freedom of press as something bestowed by the state is fiercely criticised by Stirner:

instead of asking for permission, one should appropriate the press. Approvingly readjusting Stirners battle cry to the internet era, J.M. Silva calls for an attack on the
dominance of corporate media. An often neglected aspect of Stirners work is his occupation as an editor and critic of classical economics. He translated and published the
main works of Say and Smith. G. Senft argues that the fact that their texts sanctify
power divides and economic inequalities was unbearable to Stirner, and led him to
formulate an early (i.e. pre-Marxian) theory of surplus value and to advocate workers
coalitions and cooperative economics. Stirners related thoughts on money and estate
in land influenced Tucker and Gesell. M. Schuhmann describes Stirners dismantling of
another classical economist, namely Proudhon, whom he considered possessed by the
fixed idea of common property (Psarross definition of anarchy is not so far-fetched
after all). Since the first literal anarchists understanding of property dispossesses the
egoist and refers to law, Stirner rejects it outright. In comparison, Georg Simmel, a
German sociologist who influenced Lukcs, Buber, Mannheim, Bloch and some
members of the Frankfurt School, covertly appreciates Stirners ideas and concepts. B.
Kast offers an extensive collection of passages in Simmels work that, in spite of wincing
at the radicalism, were clearly inspired by Stirner. Even more in accord with Stirner is
Paul Feyerabend, as B. Kramer argues. Both assail the scientific method of their times
that they perceive of as dogmatic: Stirner surmounts dialectics by struggling towards a
critical rationalism, which in turn is criticised by Feyerabend.
The aim of this collection is to contribute not only to the history of anarchism,
but to a history of ideas in general. It contains some of the most recent research on
Stirner and even a new portrait painting, so it is essential reading not only for the
Stirnerites among you.
Peter Seyferth
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt Munich

Staughton Lynd and Daniel Gross, Labor Law For the Rank and Filer: Building
Solidarity While Staying Clear of the Law
Oakland, CA: PM Press, 2008. 110 pages

The American labor movement is in a seemingly endless spiral of decline and attrition
an unsympathetic political system, bickering union leadership and a full-frontal
Anarchist Studies 18.2