What I Learned from Max Stirner

I struggled to understand this particular essay. Maybe it's because of the translation, or because of the style of writing, I'm not sure. However, this is my understanding of the first few pages of chapter 3 of "The Anarchist Hadbook" organized by Michael Malice. The essay is by Max Stirner, taken from his book "The Ego and His Own" written in 1844.

This essay uses the word ‘right’ in many different contexts. It can mean ‘correct’ or ‘moral’, as well as to describe ‘entitlement’ or ‘privilege’. Additionally, the author uses it to mean ‘restoring to a justice’. It is difficult to differentiate which one he is talking about throughout the text. I do my best to understand how it’s used in each situation.

What is ‘right’? Is it sovereignty and individual will? Aristotle says that justice is right, and is the benefit of living in civilized society. But does society determine what is right and what is wrong, or is right and wrong objective, even when society disagrees? If I believe I am right, or in the right, or have the right, and society disagrees, how can there be justice? 

Who determines right from wrong; who determines what is justice? If someone of high intelligence determines what is right, must I agree? If I disagree, am I to be considered wrong? If others disagree, who is right? Can one judge me right while another judge me wrong? 

Should we leave decisions of right and wrong to the law? Should a judge in a court decide for us, whether we are right, have the right to life, or deserve justice?

Is power or authority the determining factor for judging right from wrong? What if I have power over another and judge them to be wrong? What if those with power over me disagree? Who is right? The one with the most power? What if we are of equal power? What is power?

If another is to decide right and wrong for me, doesn’t that make me a slave? Since I am not allowed to determine right and wrong for myself, I must be submissive to another’s ideals. If I am not allowed the right to my own thoughts, then I am merely a cog in a machine, with no allowance for individual determination.

“Whether I am in the right or not, there is no judge but myself. Others can judge only whether they endorse my right and whether it exists as right for them, too.”

My Understanding of The Social Contract Written by William Godwin

Does the social contract apply to me? To whom does the “social contract” apply? How did I consent to a “social contract?” Did someone else consent for me? How does anyone consent? Is this consent explicit or implicit?  

Our ancestors did us no justice by choosing the laws and regulations under which we all must now live. They took away our independence and prosperity when they enacted a ‘one size fits all for all eternity’ system of governance. Surely, I shouldn’t be expected to live exactly as another individual.

Maybe there should be a time limit on established systems. But what would that time limit be? Would the contract my father entered into before I was born apply to me as a child? Would I be obliged to submit until I’ve reached the age of consent? What age would that be? Would it be the same for everyone, or would some sort of test apply?

It is usually said that if I live quietly under the current administration of laws and regulations, that I therefore consent to them. That means that anyone living quietly in a communist or authoritarian government thereby consents, when most simply have chosen the lesser of two evils. And those most affected by these evils, the poor, usually have no way to remove themselves to another territory that would be less evil. 

Additionally, the evils of any particular government are much harsher on natives of a given territory than an immigrant. The foreigner who relocates on his own accord is most likely to agree with the established government because they likely had a choice between some other form of rule. The native had no choice, for he was born into it and had no say!

To what extent do I have to obey this social contract? If I don’t vehemently oppose my government, does that suggest that I must obey some, most or all laws? Am I allowed to know all laws in existence?

At what age should I be held responsible for knowing these laws? If I were to come of age, and explicitly make an agreement to follow these laws, would it be said that I would forever be under this nation? What if, as I age, I were to come across more information that changed my mind? 

What if this consent was given a time limit, as said before? What’s the difference between that consent being a lifelong agreement, or just a year, a month, a week or an hour? Can I consent for the time being, and then remove that consent when I no longer agree? How clearly are these laws written anyway? Who can even understand the long winded wording?

It’s hard enough to get two people to agree on one thing, let alone get a whole nation to agree on a large volume of laws!

And what happens when laws change? Because I agreed to a certain representative, or a certain form of government, could it be said that I consent, by default, to all future changes in their opinion, policies or regulations?

If it is true that the government is founded upon consent, as the Declaration of Independence so adamantly proclaims, then it can have no power over those individuals who do not consent. And if it is impossible for more than two people to agree upon a volume of rules and regulations, then it is impossible for one individual to represent a group or even another individual. And since one cannot represent another, it is impossible to hold the individual accountable for their representative’s decisions in government.

Therefore, the “Social Contract” is impossible.

Disowned

I have not talked to anyone in my family for two years. I tried contacting them, but they have either blocked me on all social media or otherwise ignored me.

Two years ago, I found out that my mother had cancer. I found this out via social media posts left on my mother's Facebook page saying "I'm sorry to hear about your cancer." After further investigation of my sisters' pages, I found out that she had been fighting cancer for more than a year.

No one told me.

At about the same time, my mother found this blog. She read my post titled "To my parents: do you remember?" She was not happy about it.

"I didn't know you were so miserable as a child," she told me sarcastically.

I said, "I know you were doing your best, doing what you thought was the right thing to do."

I told her that now that I am an adult, I realize that my emotions are my responsibility, and that I can no longer blame my actions on the mistakes she and my father made during my childhood. I told her that I wrote it as a way to release my anger, and allow myself to heal.

She never spoke to me again and a year later she died.

Again, no one told me. Again, I found out via posts on my sisters' social media pages.

My wife called one of my sisters to ask why. They wouldn't talk to her, except to say that I was not welcome at my mother's memorial.

I have been disowned. My family will no longer talk to me. I'm sure that they would say that I disowned them.

Life is Perfect

Since I decided to be happy, I've realized that I've been living a lie, a lie that everyone is told. We're told that perfection is unattainable, yet we should strive for perfection at all costs. Inherent in this statement is that we're not perfect, and that we should try to be something else. If we believe this, then we can never be "good enough" because we're not perfect.

But we are perfect, and to say we are not is a lie. I am perfect. You are perfect. We can be nothing but perfect. There is nothing that exists that is not perfect.

Life, the world, everything is the way it is, which is perfect at every moment. Yes, there are changes in the world. Yes there are things we consider 'good' and 'bad.' But this does not mean that they are not perfect.

When we do our best, when we take the time to ask questions instead of assuming the answers, when we speak only words we mean and mean every word we say, when we act with integrity to those words, and when we live our lives for us without worrying about others emotions or judgments, we are perfect.

There is nothing but perfection in the world.

Reasons to be Happy

-- I am alive, breathing and healthy; I am human.
-- I am a man, strong and strong willed.
-- I am a father and husband, ensuring the lives of others can live to their fullest.
-- I am a craftsman and an artist, creating and transforming the world around me.
-- I am a writer, able to speak and act for myself with a unique voice.
-- I am an individual, and I believe in myself. 

Happiness is a Personal Choice

I have decided to be happy, that I deserve to be happy. I no longer debase myself, no longer hate myself. I have made mistakes, and I have atoned for them. There is no reason for me to repeatedly punish myself for anything. There is no need to hate myself.

I no longer base my self-worth on societal standards or the standards set forth by my parents. I am a good person and I love myself.

I am responsible for my own feelings, my own desires and my own needs. No one can change me, no one can sway me, no one can persuade me; I am in charge of my thoughts, my actions and my reactions. I do not need validation, I do not need support. I am all the support that I need.

I cannot change others, and I do not want to change others. I no longer wish to convince anyone of anything. I no longer wish to change the world, because I cannot change other's point of view.

I live in my own world, in my own dream, in my own perception of reality, and you do the same. We may agree about certain things, and perceive certain things in a similar way, and we call that 'knowledge', but our interpretation of that knowledge could never be the same.

These are the agreements that I have made with myself. This is life I live. This is my freedom.

We Almost Lost Our Home

Our home was almost impounded. My wife was able to convince the Federal Way, WA police to allow us to tow our RV to another location, rather than impounding it.

It was about 8 pm, and we were traveling in our RV, which has been our home for the last six months. The engine suddenly cut out, and I was able to coast it off of the road and into a parking lot of a dance studio in Federal Way. The owner of the studio came out and talked to us. I asked if we could stay the night and have our mechanic come in the morning. She called the security company that the studio contracts with, and they said that they would tow any vehicles that were in the lot after the studio closed.

Since we had no money for a tow truck, and no place to tow the RV anyway, we decided to chance it. We were not towed overnight, but the next morning we were approached by a woman who said she was the cleaning contractor for the studio. She wanted to let us know that she had seen a note for the receptionist to have our motor home towed if we were still there when they arrived.

Our mechanic showed up at about 10:30 the next morning. We were working on the RV as people started pulling into the lot around noon. When we saw a man unlocking the building, my wife approached him, and asked for leniency to let us fix it. He said he would give us as much time as he could.

At about 1 pm, a police officer pulled into the lot, and entered the building. Shortly after, he came out, pulled up next to us and said, "You have to leave this parking lot now, or you will be arrested for trespassing. The owner doesn't want you here for one more second."

We said we understood, and I tried to get the RV to move. It would run with the key held in the start position, so I tried to hold the key while putting the car into gear, but it would die every time I tried. So we gathered our stuff, and put it on the sidewalk next to the road. We leashed the dogs, kenneled the cats and grabbed as much of our stuff as possible.

Our mechanic helped load our stuff into his vehicle and drove me to a friend's house, who we had called to ask if we could stay a night or two. In transit, my mechanic told me he would loan me some money to get it towed, so that it didn't get impounded. My wife, who was still near the RV, was able to get a pay advance and borrow a truck from her employer. She called the tow company that had helped us a few weeks ago and convinced them to tow us about 15 miles for the same price as they had charged us the last time it broke down.

We are now stranded in the parking lot of a shut down grocery store, near our apartment that we moved out of six months ago. For two nights, no one has bothered us. I've worked on the motor home almost non-stop, and we still haven't figured out what is wrong.

I'm on my way to install a new ignition switch. Hope it works.