Max Stirner - Der Einzige und sein Eigentum - 1882

Der Einzige und sein Eigentum – Max Stirner

Leipzig: Verlag von Otto Wiegand, 1882. 379, [1]. 20.3cm x 13.5cm. Half cloth binding with marbled boards and gilt decorated and lettered spine. Rare second edition of this foundational milestone of radical individualism and egoist anarchism. Max Stirner's chief philosophical work, Der Einzige und sein Eigentum (The Ego and Its Own), was originally published in 1844 (postdated 1845) by Otto Wigand in Leipzig. This elusive 1882 second edition is significantly scarcer than the first edition on the antiquarian market. It appeared just before the late 19th-century Stirner revival sparked by the popularity of Friedrich Nietzsche. In this groundbreaking text, Stirner presents a scathing, uncompromising critique of all universal concepts and social institutions. He rejects God, the State, morality, humanity, and truth as mere abstract illusions—or "spooks" (Sparren)—designed to enslave the mind. Instead, he places the individual—the unique one ("der Einzige")—at the absolute center of reality. Stirner argues that the individual owes no allegiance to any higher cause, advocating for an absolute personal autonomy where the world is viewed merely as the ego's property (Eigentum). A pivotal, deeply controversial masterpiece of modern philosophy that profoundly influenced nihilism, existentialism, and anarchist thought.
Some rubbing, bumping, and wear to the boards and spine, and some surface damage to the cloth binding on both hinges. Pencil markings on the title page and on page 191. Some browning and spotting throughout. The text is clear, the paper is crisp, and the binding is tight. Overall, a beautiful copy in very good condition.