The Freedomseeker | John Henry Mackay | Trans. Hubert Kennedy

The Freedomseeker (1920) is the third and final volume in John Henry Mackay’s "Anarchist Trilogy," following The Anarchists and The Storm. While the earlier volumes dealt with social and political theory, The Freedomseeker is a semi-autobiographical study of the internal shift toward "Equal Liberty" and the realization of the sovereign individual.

The Stirner Connection

John Henry Mackay is perhaps best known to historians for his decade-long effort to rediscover the life and work of Max Stirner. Without Mackay’s 1898 biography, Max Stirner: His Life and His Work, it is likely that Stirner’s influence on individualist philosophy would have been lost to time.

The Freedomseeker serves as the literary application of those Stirnerite principles. It tracks the psychological development of a protagonist who—much like Mackay himself—discards the "spooks" of duty, religion, and the State to embrace a life defined by self-ownership.

About This Edition

This English translation is provided by Hubert Kennedy, the preeminent Mackay scholar and author of Anarchist of Love: The Secret Life of John Henry Mackay. Kennedy’s translation is valued by collectors for its academic rigor and its deep understanding of Mackay’s specific terminology and philosophical nuances.