This announcement comes from my friend Cory Massimino with regard to an upcoming Mutual Exchange Symposium sponsored by the Center for a Stateless Society on the topic of “Anarchism & Egoism“:
I’m very excited about this month’s Mutual Exchange Symposium. We’ll have contributions from some great folks, including Jason Byas, Chris Matthew Sciabarra, Saul Newman, Rai Ling, and others.
“Many consider anarchism and egoism polar opposites. Anarchists oppose all forms of domination, from statism to capitalism to patriarchy, because anarchism is about dignity and autonomy for all. Egoism, derived from the French égoïsme meaning ‘to think of oneself,’ is about the affirmation and assertion of the self. How can the anarchist commitment to universalism be reconciled with the egoist commitment to oneself? Isn’t ‘thinking of everyone’ at odds with ‘thinking of oneself’? This Mutual Exchange Symposium is a collective effort aimed at exploring these and related tensions.
Anarchism and egoism are, ironically, kindred spirits. Both share roots in 19th century radical philosophic and political thought—though the ideas and practices associated with each surely predate their first explicit articulations. Both have been considered, at best, taboo and, at worst, dangerous. Both have been misunderstood, but also mischaracterized. Both ultimately found refuge during the 20th and 21st centuries within broader libertarian undercurrents, where their adherents were fractured and ideas were sharpened. Most importantly, both consider themselves on the side of life and freedom. The essays compiled here explore the complex relationship between these two traditions. ”
My own contribution to this symposium—“A Dialectical Rand for an Egoist Anarchism”—offers a re-reading of the work of Ayn Rand’s ethics as one aspect of a larger project aimed at freedom and flourishing. I will post a link to the piece when it becomes available later this month.
