Anarch (sovereign individual)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Anarch is a metaphysical ideal figure of a sovereign individual, conceived by Ernst Jünger in his novel Eumeswil (1977). Jünger was greatly influenced by individualist anarchist Max Stirner. Indeed, the Anarch starts out from Stirner's conception of the unique (der Einzige), a man who forms a bond around something concrete rather than ideal, but it is then developed in subtle but critical ways beyond Stirner's concept. The concept is developed (and may best be studied) through the actions and reflections of Manuel Venator, the protagonist of Eumeswil.
The term "anarch" had been used for two years (1963–64) by students at Reed College in Portland OR to designate the official representative of their living units. The position of Anarch rotated every two weeks, and the new Anarch was selected by the drawing of cards from the deck. The Anarch was presumed to be all-powerful during his term of office; in practice, it generally meant that one might get listened to slightly more often. This is an instance of independent invention of the term, which was not pursued at the time.
