14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the ideals you serve take something from the person you are?
In The Ego and His Own, Max Stirner challenges the ideas people live by: God, nation, state, humanity, morality, even freedom. He argues that each demands service from the living individual. Against these claims, he places the particular person he calls the Unique One, or simply I.
Writing against the Young Hegelians and the arguments of his age, Stirner asks what belongs to the self. He moves from the stages of a human life to attacks on three kinds of liberalism, then develops his ideas of ownness and a union of egoists. Authority itself comes under scrutiny.
What you’ll discover
- The causes you serve Examine Stirner’s blunt challenge to the ideals that ask you to put yourself last.
- Ghosts in the head Follow his argument that abstract ideas gain power at the expense of living people.
- Three promises under pressure Explore why Stirner attacks political, social and humane liberalism as demands on the individual.
- Ownness rather than freedom Discover the sharp distinction at the heart of Stirner’s positive case for the self.
- Living with other egoists Consider his answer to a pressing question: how can individuals live together as egoists?
Who will love it
This book is for readers who love a sharp argument, who enjoy seeing freedom, duty and humanity put to the test, and who are curious about the roots of anarchist thought.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Your cause need not come last
- Ideas belong to their makers
- The sacred stands above the person
- Liberalism changes who holds authority
- Ownness does not wait for permission
- Rights rest on the power behind them
- Association lasts while it serves you
- Use your thoughts without serving them
- Ask whose cause a claim serves
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook opens when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Ego and His Own in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Ego and His Own
by Max Stirner · 1844
Max Stirner tells God, the State and Humanity that each is a ghost haunting your head, and only you are real.
Challenging5–10 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with challenging classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeRenews every year · Cancel anytimeHow it works
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“Nothing matters more to me than myself!”
In short
What if everything you were taught to serve, from God to your country to humanity itself, is only an idea sitting in your head? Max Stirner opens his book by asking why everyone else's cause should concern him more than his own.
The Ego and His Own at a glance
- Reading time
- About 9 h 45 min7 h 45 min fast, 11 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 139,600 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1844by Max Stirner
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Every cause serves itself, so serve yourself
Stirner begins with a complaint. Everyone is told to care about God's cause, the cause of mankind, of truth, of freedom, of the people and the prince. Only your own cause is called unworthy. He calls this the great trick of the age.
He tests those causes in turn. God serves nothing above himself. Mankind serves only its own growth, and throws used-up nations onto history's dung heap. The Sultan loves his people but jails anyone who tries to belong to himself. Even the patriot dies for the nation, and the nation flourishes on the manure of his corpse. These great egoists come out best, so Stirner proposes to be one too.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1844
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 10 h 55 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Stirner, Max. The Ego and His Own. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-ego-and-his-own.
Stirner, M. (2026). The ego and his own. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-ego-and-his-own (Original work published 1844)
Stirner, Max. The Ego and His Own. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-ego-and-his-own.
@book{stirner2026ego,
author = {Stirner, Max},
title = {The Ego and His Own},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-ego-and-his-own},
note = {First published 1844}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every eBookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Ego and His Own
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Ego and His Own about?
It argues that ideas such as God, the State, humanity and freedom are abstractions that rule people, and that each individual should treat them as his own creations and serve his own interests instead.
What does Stirner mean by spooks and wheels in the head?
Spooks are ideas treated as higher beings, and wheels in the head are fixed ideas that capture a person, such as duty, morality or the sacred. Stirner says they exist only because people honor them.
What is the difference between freedom and ownness in Stirner?
Freedom means being rid of something and is often granted by others. Ownness means being your own, in body and thought, and you hold it by taking and keeping power over yourself.
The author
Max Stirner
1806–1856 · German philosopher
Max Stirner was the pen name of Johann Kaspar Schmidt, a German philosopher born in Bayreuth in 1806. He lived and worked in Berlin, where he taught at a girls’ school. He published The Ego and His Own in 1844. He died in Berlin in 1856.
“Nothing matters more to me than myself!”
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
