“Whoever will be free must make himself free. Freedom is no fairy gift to fall into a man’s lap. What is freedom? To have the will to be responsible for one’s self.” ― Max Stirner
There was a philosopher few have heard of, who influenced Neitzche and expounded radical egoism. His name was Max Stirner. The egoism he promoted even applied to the idea that ideas are meant to serve the individual. People who stake their lives on the state, the religion, or even property rights, are serving an idea, and have become possessed by a spook of the mind.
“He who is infatuated with Man leaves persons out of account so far as that infatuation extends, and floats in an ideal, sacred interest. Man, you see, is not a person, but an ideal, a spook.” ― Max Stirner
Also, if we have time we’ll cover how this applies to economics, in the form of the Austrian idea of Methodological individualism.
Viewings
Busting spooks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWb1z6ZwUoY
The proper exercise of selfishness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY0vpgUqh6M
Stirner - Does altruism exist? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y8ZT0CaxGk
Listenings
Stirner’s theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9We2XsVZfc
The ego and his own (Audiobook) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBOex4R61Oo
Ego and his own part 2/2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWSt_Wqj8sU&t=26s
Readings
The ego and his own (Stirner’s book) https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/max-stirner-the-ego-and-his-own
Methodological Individualism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodological_individualism?fbclid=IwAR2hAfgKt5mJJ8gtph5vgk-gl6x2bZGQH3g7pDQjlAUvjSBH_NmmTZisGxI
The foundation for methodological individualism is covered well in chapters one and two of Ludwig von Mises’s magnum opus, Human Action. It can be obtained for free (in pretty much any format you prefer) from the Mises Institute website: