Philosophy Superman

7/26/2019 Philosophy Superman

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On the Philosophy of the

SupermanBy Leon Trotsky


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On the Philosophy of the Superman

Preface

We are presenting the young Leon Trotskys essay on the German philosopher Friedrich

Nietzsche, written in 19 on the ad!ent o" the philosophers death# $t is perspicuous "or

its criticism o" the social roots o" Nietzsches thought, helping to underscore its anti%

democratic and authoritarian nature, and traces the appeal Nietzsche had "or the most

rapacious elements o" &ourgeois society# Trotsky descri&es these elements as constituting

a 'parasitic proletariat( o" those 'ad!enturers o" "inance)supermen o" the stock

e*change)the unscrupulous &lackmailers o" politics and +ournalism(, along with layers

inclined to what can &e descri&ed as proto%"ascist, represented &y the aristocratic

radicalism o" the $talian poet Ga&rielle -.nnunzio# While not meant to &e an e*hausti!e

treatment, Trotskys insights are an important contri&ution to the continuing de&ate on

the political dimensions o" Nietzsche, and he anticipates much o" the new scholarship

"rom om om&owsky, omenico Losurdo, and /an 0ehmann to name only a "ew2 that

challenges esta&lishment li&eral and postmodern interpretations# The notion that

Nietzsche can &e reha&ilitated "or li&eral democracy, much less socialism, is losing

credi&ility, and this translation o" Trotskys essay &y 3itchell .&idor will help to "urthercon"ront the consensus "orged &y Walter 4au"mann, French post%structuralism, and other

depoliticized accounts o" Nietzsche# For !ery understanda&le reasons Trotsky paid less

attention to Nitezsches place in the history o" philosophy than he did to the social roots

o" his thought# 5!en today this approach has much to recommend it, although we would

also wish to supplement Trotskys in!estigation with more recent scholarship# 6ome

periods o" history re7uire the &ow &e &ent in one direction more than another when

interpreting a thinker, and were Trotsky writing this essay today he would undou&tedly

treat the su&+ect in somewhat more nuanced terms, without at the same time weakening

his main thesis#

Trotsky recognized this himsel" when he wrote,

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We o&!iously make no claim to an e*hausti!e criti7ue o" the "antastic creations o" Frederick

Nietzsche, philosopher in poetry and poet in philosophy# This is impossi&le within the

"ramework o" a "ew newspaper articles# We only wanted to descri&e in &road strokes the

social &ase which has shown itsel" to &e capa&le o" gi!ing &irth to Nietzscheism, not as a

philosophical system contained in a certain num&er o" !olumes and "or the most part

e*plica&le &y the indi!idual particularities o" its author, &ut rather as a social current

attracting particular attention &ecause we are dealing with a current o" the present time#

Were this essay &eing written today it would o&!iously ha!e to take account o" how that

social &ase has changed in the last 11 years# 3oreo!er, in a contemporary analysis it

would also &e necessary to consider the in"luence that Nietzsche had on many a!ant%

garde artists and intellectuals in the past century# While Trotsky right"ully &ent the &ow

in one direction, seeing it as, 'indispensa&le to &ring Nietzscheism down "rom the literary

and philosophical heights to the purely earthly &asis o" social relations(, in order to

correct a common attitude in his time that completely dismissed the 'earthly &asis(, it

would &e +ust as wrong in our time % dominated as they are with mechanical determinist

conceptions % not to engage the more philosophical pro&lems Nietzsche presents and limit

e!ery consideration o" Nietzsche &ack to social relations as i" his philosophy could &e

treated as a chimera# $" we do that we will not &e a&le to e*plain Nietzsches lasting

in"luence on artists and intellectuals despite the reactionary content o" his philosophy as a

whole#

We are grate"ul to 3itchel .&idor "or pro!iding the "irst 5nglish translation o" this essay

and "or the 3ar*ist $nternet .rchi!es "or pu&lishing it# .&idors 5nglish translation was

"irst posted on the 3ar*ist $nternet .rchi!es in /une, 811 at this location,

http::www#cddc#!t#edu:mar*ists:archi!e:trotsky:19:18:nietzsche#htm2# $t should &e

noted that Trotsky originally pu&lished this essay in 0ussian# . !ery good French

translation was pu&lished on the 3ar*ist $nternet .rchi!es a num&er o" years ago# $t can

&e accessed here

http::www#mar*ists#org:"rancais:trotsky:li!res:litterature:nietzsche#htm# We ha!e taken

the li&erty o" making certain minor corrections to .&idors translation# 6peci"ically, we

changed .&idors rendering o" 're!aluation o" !alues( to what is now considered the

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http://www.cddc.vt.edu/marxists/archive/trotsky/1900/12/nietzsche.htmhttp://www.marxists.org/francais/trotsky/livres/litterature/nietzsche.htmhttp://www.cddc.vt.edu/marxists/archive/trotsky/1900/12/nietzsche.htmhttp://www.marxists.org/francais/trotsky/livres/litterature/nietzsche.htm


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standard 5nglish translation, 'trans!aluation o" !alues(# . small num&er o" o&!ious

typographical errors ha!e &een corrected and certain French neologisms in .&idors

translation ha!e &een rendered into 5nglish# Finally, .&idors translation was missing

many o" the "ootnotes "rom the original 0ussian editors as well as a "ew original notes o"

Trotsky# $n other cases, some o" the "ootnotes "rom the 0ussian editors were

signi"icantly truncated# We ha!e restored the "ootnotes o" the 0ussian editors as well as

Trotskys original notes# $n a small num&er o" cases we ha!e e*panded on the "ootnotes

"rom the 0ussian editors to pro!ide a more contemporary understanding o" the historical

material# $n one case we ha!e completely rewritten a note "rom the 0ussian editors


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Leon Trotsky


Source =riginally in Vostochnoye Obozriene, nos# 8?>, 8?@, 8?A, 8?9 o"

ecem&er 88, 8>, 8B, ; 19# Translated "rom the French at

http::mar*ists#org:"rancais:trotsky:li!res:litterature:nietzsche#htmC

Translated "or mar*ists#org &y 3itchell .&idorC

CopyLeft Dreati!e Dommons.ttri&ute E 6hare.like2 mar*ists#org 811#

0ecently our newspapers and periodicals ha!e &ecome incredi&ly respect"ul 'in

the presence o" death#( There are literati "rom whom we demand and e*pect

nothing "or the simple reason that there is nothing to &e gotten "rom them they

lack e!en a "ig lea" to hide their nudity when its needed# $t is only right that their

praise and criticism lea!e us indi""erent# Dorpses themsel!es, they &ury their

corpses#

$t is not here a 7uestion o" these men, &ut o" those hommes de lettres"rom whom

we would e*pect a per"ectly healthy attitude in the "ace o" literary and social

phenomena, e!en i" they are co!ered with the conciliating !eil o" death#

0ussia recently &uried G#. +anchie! 1and #6# 6olo!ie!,8and 5urope W#

Lie&knecht;and F# Nietzsche# To &e sure, it would &e rude to 'trample on a

1G#.# +anchie! 1?B1%192, historian and li&eral pu&licist, author o" a &ook on the history o" re"orms during the

reign o" .le*ander $$Iz Epokha velikikh Reform The era o" great re"orms2# 5n+oyed great authority in li&eral

circles# 0ussian 5ditor-s note2

8ladimir 6ergeye!ich 6olo!yo! 1?B?%192# Well%known philosopher, pu&licist and poet, whose mystical and

religious conceptions were com&ined with li&eral ideas on social and political issues# 6olo!yo!-s philosophy hadgreat success among circles o" pre%re!olutionary 0ussian intelligentsia who were oriented toward

mysticism# 0ussian 5ditors note2

;Wilhelm Lie&knecht 1?8@%192 leader o" the German working class and one o" the "ounders o" the German

6ocial emocratic arty# Lie&knecht &egan his political acti!ity &y participating in the re!olutionary mo!ement o"

1?>?# ."ter se!eral years o" emigration he made contact with 3ar* and 5ngels in London and &ecame their disciple#


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corpse(, to use N#4# 3ikailo!skys >e*pression# Hut we perhaps show more

respect "or someone who ela&orated a system o" thought &y putting him in a place

appropriate to his literary and social physiognomy rather than through

immoderate praise emanating "rom his enemies# $t is not !ery pro&a&le that

Lie&knecht would ha!e &een satis"ied with the praise o"Moskovskye Viedomosti

or!ovo Vremia ", +ust as Nietzsche would not ha!e appreciated that o"

Vor#$rts%& or that o"Rosskoe 'o(atsvo)# We should recall that the 6candina!ian

Volksblatt# The newspaper was closed in 1?A?# $n 1?9, Lie&knecht led the dra"ting o" the central organ o" the party,

pu&lished under the same title in Herlin# $n 1?A> Lie&knecht was elected to the 0eichstag, where, with "ew

interruptions, he remained until his death# Lie&knecht aligned himsel" with the le"t wing o" 6ocial emocracy and

was one o" the leading opponents o" re!isionist tendencies within that organization# 0ussian 5ditors note2

>Nicolas 4# 3ikhailo!sky 1?>8%19>2, +ournalist, sociologist and critic, was one o" the leading theorists o"

populism#


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3iland9a""irms and we &elie!e him with no di""iculty that all the praise o"

the radical press procured him less pleasure and moral satis"action than the

!enomous insults o" reactionary +ournalists#

$" we must 'speak well o" the dead or say nothing at all,( in this case it is

pre"era&le to o&ser!e a respect"ul silence rather than o&scure the social

signi"icance o" the deceased &y a "lood o" unctuous praise de!oid o" meaning# We

can and we must ha!e an impartial attitude towards the persons o" our social

enemies &y according them the tri&ute owed to their sincerity and their !aried

indi!idual !irtues# Hut an enemy, i" he is sincere or not, li!ing or dead, remains

an enemy, in particular an enemy who li!es in his works e!en a"ter his death# $n

remaining silent we commit a social crime 'Not opposing acti!ely,( a "amous0ussian thinker said, 'means supporting passi!ely#( This should not &e "orgotten,

e!en in the "ace o" the tragedy o" death#

These re"lections ha!e led us to dedicate a "ew words to the philosopher

Frederick Nietzsche, recently deceased, and in particular to the aspects o" his

doctrine that concern his concepts concerning and +udgments o" society, his

sympathies and antipathies, his social criticism, and his societal ideal#

For many people Nietzsches li"e and personality e*plain his philosophy he

could not passi!ely accept the situation his illness placed him in# 9%1???2 Norwegian writer, representati!e o" the realist mo!ement in Norwegian literature# 0ussian

5ditors note21 We will not gi!e re"erences, since the pu&lication o" the #orkso" Nietzsche in eight !olumes, not counting the

additional !olumes, is e*cessi!ely hea!y artillery "or a "ew newspaper articles# =riginal note o" Trotsky2

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'$n these words(, says .lois 0iehl11, 'we hear the !oice o" a sick man who

trans"ormed su""ering into a means o" education o" the will#(

Hut the cult o" su""ering is only a part, and not one o" the most characteristic ones,

o" Nietzsches philosophical systemC a part that was rashly put in the "ore"ront &y

se!eral o" our philosophers critics and e*egetes#

The social a*is o" his system i" it is permitted to o""end Nietzsches writings with

a term as !ulgar in the eyes o" their author as that o" 'system(2 is the recognition

o" the pri!ilege granted a "ew 'chosen( to "reely en+oy all the goods o" e*istence#

These happy chosen are not only e*empted "rom producti!e la&or, &ut also "rom

the 'la&or( o" domination# '$t is "or you to &elie!e and ser!e Dienstbarkeit2

6uch is the destiny Oarathustra o""ers ordinary mortals in his ideal society, whose

num&er is too greatJden Vielvuzielen2# .&o!e them is the caste o" those who gi!e

orders, o" guardians o" the law, o" warriors# .t the summit is the king, 'the

highest image o" the warrior, +udge, and guardian o" the law#( Dompared to the

'supermen( all o" them are au*iliaries, they are employed in the 'rude tasks o"

domination they ser!e to transmit to the mass o" sla!es 'the will o" the

legislators#( Finally, the highest caste is that o" 'masters, o" 'creators o" !alues,(

o" 'legislators,( o" 'supermen#( They inspire the acti!ity o" the entire social

organism# They will play on earth the same role that God, according to the

Dhristian "aith, plays in the uni!erse#

Thus e!en the 'la&or( o" leadership "alls not on superior &eings, &ut only on the

most ele!ated among the in"erior# .s concerns the 'chosen,( the supermen,( "reed

o" all social and moral o&ligations they lead a li"e "ull o" ad!enture, happiness,

and +oy 'Gi!en that $ li!e, ' says Nietzsche, ' $ want li"e to o!er"low, that it &e in

me and outside me as prodigal, as lu*urious as possi&le#(

11.lois 0iehl 1?>>%198>2, German philosopher o" the neo%4antian school, author o" the &ookDer 3ritizismus

PhilosophyTheory o" science and metaphysics "rom the perspecti!e o" philosophical criticism2# 0ussian 5ditors

note2

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$t is a 7uestion, a&o!e, o" the cult o" su""ering meaning physical su""ering

which no de!otion on the part o" the sla!es can spare the superman# .s concerns

the su""ering tied to social distur&ances, the superman, o" course, must &e

a&solutely "reed "rom them# $" there remains one mandatory task "or the

superman, and this only "or the superman im 4erden in the process o"

&ecoming2 it is that o" per"ecting himsel", which means the elimination o" all that

might resem&le pity# The superman '"alls i" he allows himsel" to &e dominated &y

"eelings o" pity, regret, and sympathy#( .ccording to the "ormer 'ta&le o" !alues(

pity is a !irtueC Nietzsche considers it the greatest temptation and the most

"right"ul danger# The 'gra!est sin( according to Oarathustra, the most horri&le o"

mis"ortunes, is pity# $" he "eels anything "or the un"ortunate, i" he is touched at the

sight o" sorrow, his destiny has come to an end he is !an7uished, his name must

&e crossed "rom the list o" the caste o" 'masters#( '5!erywhere, Oarathustra says,

'there resounds the !oice o" those to whom it is indispensa&le that death &e

preached, or eternal li"e, Phe says with an honest cynicismQC which o" them is i" o"

no importance to me as long as they disappear dahinfahren2 as 7uickly as

possi&le#(

He"ore arri!ing at the ela&oration o" his positi!e ideal, Nietzsche had to su&mit

the dominant social norms in the realms o" the state, law and especially morality

to criticism#


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originality# Nietzsche himsel" writes that in his research into the moralities that

dominated in the past and dominate today he encountered two "undamental

tendencies the masters morality and the sla!es morality# The masters morality

ser!es as the &asis "or the conduct o" the superman# This dual character o"

morality tra!erses the history o" humanity like a red thread, and it isnt Nietzsche

who disco!ered it#

'$t is "or you to &elie!e and to ser!e, Oarathustra reminded us, addressing those

whose num&er is too great# The higher caste is that o" the 'masters, the 'creators

o" !alues#( For the masters and "or them alone, the morality o" the superman was

created# What no!elty, noI 5!en the landlords during the time o" ser"dom, who

knew little a&out this su&+ect, knew that there e*ist people who ha!e &lue &loodand others who dont18 and that what is necessary "or one group is reprehensi&le

in the others# Thus they knew, according to the words o" the &rilliant satirist, that

'it was not "itting "or a no&le to occupy himsel" with commerce, to ha!e a

pro"ession, and to &low his nose without the assistance o" a handkerchie", &ut that

it was not inappropriate to gam&le an entire !illage at a game o" cards or to trade

young .richka "or a hunting dogC that it wasnt proper "or a peasant to sha!e his

&eard, to drink tea, and to wear &oots, &ut it wasnt improper to e*change a

thousand !ersts o" land "or a letter o" 3atriona $!ano!na to .!dotia assilie!na

in which 3atriona $!ano!na wishes her "riend a good holiday and announces that

thanks to God she "eels "ine( Satiry v prose21;

=ne o" the least critical critics o" Nietzsche recognizes that 'i" we remo!e "rom

his ideas the parado*ical and poetic "orm in which they are incarnated in his

writings they are o"ten much less no!el than they appear on "irst sight#(

Lichten&erg,Die Philosophie 05 !ietzsche2#

Nietzsches philosophy is not as new as it seems, &ut it can &e considered original

to the e*tent that in order to e*plain it it is necessary to re"er e*clusi!ely to the

18 Literally, people with &lack &ones and people with white &ones#1;6atires in prose#2 Work &y 3#5# 6altyko! 6hchedrin, Sotchini2nia, 6t eters&urg, 1??A, t# $$, p# ;1?# 0ussian

5ditors note2

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comple* indi!iduality o" its author# $n this case, how can one e*plain that in such

a short span o" time it has ac7uired so many adeptsC how can one e*plain that

Nietzsches ideas,( in the words o" .# 0iehl, 'ha!e "or many &ecome an article o"

"aithI( We can only do so &y stating that the soil in which Nietzsches philosophy

grew is in no way e*ceptional# There e*ist large groups o" people who social

conditions place in a situation that Nietzsches philosophy corresponds to like no

other#

$n our literature Gorky and Nietzsche ha!e o"ten &een compared# .t "irst sight

such a comparison might seem strange what can the &ard o" the humiliated and

o""ended, o" the least o" the least, ha!e in common with the apostle o" the

supermanI To &e sure the di""erence is enormous, &ut the relationship &etweenthe two is much closer than one would at "irst &elie!e#

Gorkys heroes,1>according to the intentions and, in part, the way they are

represented, are not at all the humiliated and the o""endedC they are not the least

o" the least in their way, they are supermen# 3any, and e!en the ma+ority, "ind

themsel!es in a situation which is not at all the result o" their de"eat in the cruel

social struggle which caused them to lea!e the straight and narrow# NoC it is a

choice they-!e made to not accommodate themsel!es to the narrowness o"

contemporary social organization, with its laws and morality, and instead to lea!e

society# This is what Gorky says# We grant him the responsi&ility "or his

assertionsC on this su&+ect we maintain our position# .s the ideologue o" a gi!en

social group Gorky could not reason di""erently# .n indi!idual, attached &y

material and ideological ties to a certain group cannot consider it a gathering o"

re+ects he must "ind a meaning "or the e*istence o" his group# The "undamental

social strata can easily "ind such a meaning &y relying on an analysis, howe!er

super"icial, o" contemporary society, with its system o" production, o" which the

strata are indispensa&le elements# These are the &ourgeoisie, the proletariat, and

intellectual workers#( $t is not the same with the group that Gorky makes himsel"

1>6ee the essay '= romane !oo&chtchR i o romane .ro,2! tchastnosti( P=n the no!el in general and on Gorkys

SThe Three in particularQ# $n L# T0=T64M, Sotchini2nia5 not a!aila&le in 5nglish#2

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the &ard o" and the apologist "or# Li!ing outside society, though on its territory

and at its e*pense, it seeks the +usti"ication o" its e*istence in the consciousness o"

its superiority o!er the mem&ers o" organized society# $t appears that the

"ramework o" this society is too narrow "or those o" its mem&ers gi"ted &y nature

with e*ceptional particularities, more or less superhuman#( We are here dealing

with the same kind o" protest against the norms o" contemporary society as those

o" Nietzsche#1B

Nietzsche &ecame the ideologue o" a group li!ing like a &ird o" prey at the

e*pense o" society, &ut under conditions more "ortunate than those o" the

misera&le lumpenproletariat they are aparasitenproletariato" a higher cali&er#

The composition o" this group in contemporary society is 7uite heterogeneousand "luid e!en gi!en the e*treme comple*ity and di!ersity o" relationships within

the &ourgeois regime# Hut what ties together all the disparate mem&ers o" the

social order o" &ourgeois chi!alry is the open and at the same time as a general

rule, o" course2 unpunished pillage on an immense scale o" the goods o"

consumption without any we insist on stressing this2 methodical participation in

the organized process o" production and distri&ution# .s the representati!e o" the

type we ha!e +ust outlined we can cite the hero o" Oolas no!el 'L-.rgent, 6accar#

=&!iously all o" the ad!enturers o" "inance dont ha!e the &readth o" Oolas

cele&rated hero# We ha!e an e*ample on a smaller scale in 6tratzs &ad2 no!el

'Le ernier Dhoi*( the translation is a!aila&le in the collection o" Russkoye

'o(atsstvo2 it deals with a count who gam&les on the stock e*change#

Hut the di""erence is 7uantitati!e and not 7ualitati!e# $n general there are so many

characters o" this type in contemporary literature that we dont know which one

to concentrate on#

1BNote in passing a common "eature o" the two writers mentioned The respect "or 'strong men(# Gorky "orgi!es a

man any negati!e act as long as, according to Gorky2 it is the result o" a "orce that seeks to e*press itsel"# These acts

are descri&ed so well and with so much lo!e that e!en a reader who does not agree with them will &ecome e*cited

a&out their 'strength( and come to admire them# This is the case with old GordiRie! and some other heroes o"

Gorky# Note o" Trotsky#2

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$t should not &e deduced "rom all this that &eing Nietzschean means &eing an

ad!enturer o" "inance or a !ulture o" the stock market# $n "act, the &ourgeoisie has

spread its indi!idualism &eyond the &orders o" its own class, thanks to the organic

ties within society# We can say the same thing relati!e to the numerous

ideological elements o" theparasitenproletariat, all o" whose mem&ers are "ar

"rom &eing conscious Nietzscheans# 3ost o" them pro&a&ly are e!en unaware o"

Nietzsches e*istence inso"ar as they concentrate their intellectual acti!ity on an

entirely di""erent sphereC on the other hand, each o" them is a Nietzschean despite

himsel"#


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least deser!ing, who sa!e nothing#( We should recall here the polemic that

opposed N#4# 3ikhailo!sky to 6pencer &ecause the latter didnt want remedies to

&e "ound "or the natural conse7uences o" po!erty and !ice# Dompare this demand

with Oarathustras speech 'The earth is "ull o" people to whom it is indispensa&le

that death &e preached#( They shouldnt &e helpedC rather they should &e pushed

so they "all "aster# 'Das ist (ross6 das (eh7rt zur (rasse###( this is su&lime2#

Hut the resem&lance which is "ormal ends here# 6pencer does not in the

least want to e*empt the &ourgeoisie o" the 'la&or( o" domination, and the

superior type "or him is not the man o" un"ettered instincts# The &ourgeoisie as a

class, and the capitalist regime as a determined system o" relations o" production,

are two phenomena unthinka&le each without the other, and 6pencer, asideological representati!e o" the &ourgeoisie, cannot contest &ourgeois norms# $"

he protests against assistance "or the weak it is precisely &ecause he "ears the

unleashing o" these weak on the social order so dear to his heart and, at the same

time, on his peace"ul o""ice so well protected &y the order in 7uestion#

This is not the case with Nietzsche#


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representati!es o" the &ourgeois golden mean, 3a* Nordau 1?,a man more

grandilo7uent than pro"ound, en!ious to the point o" pettiness and not sparing in

his use o" energetic e*pressions, thought o" Nietzsche#


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doesnt like to &e e*ploited# Hut the Ke&ermensch o" all kinds grow "at dipping

into the &ourgeois "unds o" surplus !alue, i#e#, they li!e directly at the e*pense o"

the &ourgeoisie# $t goes without saying that they cant place themsel!es under the

protection o" its ethical laws# Donse7uently, they must create moral principles

corresponding to their way o" li"e# Kntil recently this higher category o"

parasitenproletariat had no glo&al ideology that ga!e it the possi&ility o"

+usti"ying the 'higher( reasons "or its rapacious actions# The +usti"ication o" the

rapacity o" the industrial &ourgeoisie, 'healthy thanks to its historical merits and

organizational capacity, without which it appears that social production could not

e*ist, this +usti"ication is o&!iously not appropriate "or the knights o" higher and

lower stock prices,19 "or the ad!enturers o" "inance, "or the supermen o" the stock

e*change, "or the unscrupulous &lackmailers o" politics and +ournalism in a

word, "or that entire mass o" parasitical proletarians that has solidly attached itsel"

to the &ourgeois organism and which in one way or another li!es and in general

doesnt li!e &adly at the e*pense o" society without gi!ing it anything in

e*change# $ndi!idual representati!es o" these groups contented themsel!es with

the consciousness o" their intellectual superiority o!er those who allowed

themsel!es to &e shorn &ut how could they do otherwiseI2# Hut this group, 7uite

large and e!er growing, needed a theory that ga!e it the right to dare,(gi!en its

intellectual superiority# $t waited "or its apostle and "ound it in the person o"

Nietzsche# With his cynical sincerity, his great talent, Nietzsche appeared &e"ore

it, proclaiming his 'masters morality,( his 'e!erything is allowed,( and it praised

him to the skies###

The li"e o" a no&le &eing, Nietzsche teaches, is an uninterrupted chain o"

ad!entures "ull o" danger#


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&ourgeois society was &ound to "ind Nietzsches ideas on a li"e "ull o" ad!entures

more appropriate than that o" a philistine like 6miles,8who preaches a !ulgar

petit%&ourgeois moderation and punctuality that renders all o" e*istence "lat

6miles is the god"ather o" the petit%&ourgeoisie that was &eginning to de!elop2#

These dregs also re+ected the theses o" utilitarian morality &ased on strictly

rationalist principles preached &y Hentham,81 the spiritual leader o" the healthy(

Hritish(rande bour(eoisie, scrupulous and honest in the commercial sense o"

the term, o" course2#

.ccording to Nietzsche, humanity will raise itsel" to the superman when it will

ha!e re+ected the current hierarchy o" !alues and, a&o!e all, Dhristian and

democratic ideals# Hourgeois society, at least in words, respects democraticprinciples# Nietzsche "or his part, as we ha!e seen, separates morals into the

morality o" masters and the morality o" sla!es#


18/23


the non%supermen, that they '"ul"ill the common la&ors in serried ranks,( o&edient

to those &orn "or a superior li"e# $t is demanded o" them that they "ind their

happiness in the conscientious "ul"illing o" the o&ligations imposed on them &y

the e*istence o" a society at the summit o" which is "ound a small num&er o"

supermen# To want the in"erior castes to "ind moral satis"action in ser!ice to the

great is not, as you can see, particularly new#

Though it "re7uently occurs that the mem&ers o" this &rilliant &ourgeois

proletariat "ind themsel!es holding the le!ers o" power, in general in &ourgeois

society they dont hold go!ernmental power# $t "alls into their hands as the result

o" a kind o" social misunderstanding, and their go!ernment ends in scandals like

anama,

88

the rey"us .""air

8;

and Drispi .""air#

8>

They dont seize power withthe goal o" reorganizing society, which they consider in a negati!e "ashion, &ut

simply to en+oy pu&lic wealth# =n this point as well, conse7uently, Nietzsche

"inds a "a!ora&le echo in them, since they "ree the supermen o" the la&or o"

leadership# $n its negati!e attitude the lumpenproletariat, that parasitical

proletariat o" a lower rank, is more consistent than Nietzsches admirers it re+ects

88anama 0e"ers to a trial triggered &y a&uses in the management o" a corporation created "or the construction o"

the anama Danal that linked the .tlantic and aci"ic# uring the trial many outrageous details were un!eiled

undermining a num&er o" ministers, 3s and representati!es known to the press# JanamaJ &ecame a common

name "or all kinds o" social or political scandals# 0ussian 5ditors note2

8;rey"us .""air $n 1?9>, .l"red rey"us, a young French artillery o""icer o" .lsatian /ewish descent was

con!icted o" treason "or allegedly passing on French military secrets and sentenced to li"e imprisonment in the

French penal colony o" e!ils $sland# Two years later e!idence came to light that a 3a+or in the French .rmy,

Ferdinand Walsin 5sterhazy, was the real culprit#


19/23


society in its entirety# $t "inds too narrow not only the spiritual "ramework o" that

society, &ut its material organization# The Nietzscheans "or their part, while

re+ecting the +uridical and ethical norms o" &ourgeois society, ha!e nothing

against the commodities created through its material organization# Nietzsches

superman is not at all disposed to renounce the learning, the ad!antages, and the

new "orces humanity has ac7uired o!er a long and di""icult roadC on the contrary,

the entire conception o" the world i" we can use this term here2, the entire

philosophy o" the Nietzscheans ser!es to +usti"y the en+oyment o" the goods in

whose creation they played no part, not e!en a "ormal one#

Nietzsche wants e!eryone, &e"ore &eing classed among the chosen, to answer the

7uestion '.re you one o" those who has the right to escape the yokeI Hut he didnot gi!e, cannot gi!e o&+ecti!e criteria "or answering this 7uestion# The positi!e

or negati!e response thus depends on the good will and rapacious talents o" each#

Nietzsches philosophical system, as he more than once pointed out, contains a

great num&er o" contradictions#


20/23


Gi!en these contradictions it is not surprising that completely opposed social

elements would place themsel!es under the "lag o" Nietzscheism# .n ad!enturer

unaware o" his lineage can totally ignore the Nietzschean respect "or aristocratic

traditions#


21/23


e*tent Nietzsches thought is at the origin o" his ideas# Hut this has no importance

"or us# What counts here is that -.nnunzios ultra%aristocratic ideas are nearly

identical with those o" Nietzsche# .s is to &e e*pected "rom an aristocrat,

-.nnunzio hates &ourgeois democracy# '$n 0ome(, he said,

$ saw the most shame"ul pro"anations that ha!e e!er &lackened sacred things# Like

"lowing cloacae, a ri!er o" &ase en!ies in!ades the s7uares and streets# The king,

descendant o" a line o" warriors, sets an e*ample o" amazing patience in the

accomplishing o" !ulgar and tedious o&ligations prescri&ed &y a ple&ian decree#

.ddressing himsel" to poets, he says

What does your !ocation now consist o"I 3ust we now praise uni!ersal su""rageCmust we, &y our wheezy he*ameters, hasten the "all o" royalty, the coming o" the

repu&lic, popular seizure o" powerI For a reasona&le sum we could con!ince the

incredulous that might, right, wisdom, and enlightenment can &e "ound in the

masses#

Hut that is not the task o" poets

3ark the "oolish "oreheads o" those who wanted to render all human heads uni"orm,

like nails under the hammer o" the worker# Let your irrepressi&le laughter clim& to

the hea!ens when you hear at demonstrations the din o" the grooms o" the animal

that is the populace#(

.ddressing the impotent "lotsam o" the aristocratic past, he shouts,

Wait "or and prepare the e!ent# $t will not &e di""icult "or you to return the herd to

o&edience# The men o" the people will "ore!er remain sla!es, &ecause there is in

them the innate need to reach out towards chains# 0emem&er that the soul o" thecrowd knows only panic#

5ntirely in agreement with Nietzsche, -.nnunzio +udges the trans!aluation o" all

!alues indispensa&le, something that must occur

81


22/23


The new 0oman Daesar, predestined &y nature to domination, will come and wipe

out or o!erturn all the !alues admitted "or too long &y all kinds o" doctrines#


23/23


$t would certainly not &e di""icult to unearth in Nietzsches !oluminous works a

"ew pages which, outside their conte*t, might ser!e to illustrate any preconcei!ed

thesis, particularly within the "ramework o" a glo&al e*egesis which,

parenthetically, would &e 7uite use"ul to the works o" Nietzsche, which are more

o&scure than pro"ound# This is what the anarchists o" Western 5urope did, who

hastened to consider Nietzsche one o" them and who recei!ed a cruel re&u"" the

philosopher o" the masters morality re+ected them with all the rudeness he was

capa&le o"# $t is clear to the reader, we hope, that we "ind sterile such a literary

and te*tual attitude towards the writings rich in parado*es o" the recently

deceased German thinker, whose aphorisms are o"ten contradictory and in general

allow "or dozens o" interpretations# The natural road towards a correct

clari"ication o" Nietzschean philosophy is the analysis o" the social &ase that ga!e

&irth to this comple* product# The present article stro!e to carry out an analysis o"

this kind# The &ase re!ealed itsel" to &e rotten, pernicious, and poisoned# From

which this conclusion let them in!ite us as much as they want to di!e in all

con"idence into Nietzscheism, to &reathe deeply in his works the "resh air o"

proud indi!idualism# We will not answer these appeals and, without "earing "acile

reproaches o" narrowness and e*clusi!ism, will reply with skepticism the way

Nathaniel did in the gospel 'Dan anything good come out o" NazarethI(

8;

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Philosophy Superman

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