Nietzsche has been dead for more than a hundred years, yet today his reputation is higher than ever. Indeed Nietzsche is probably the leading philosopher to whom liberal intellectuals and academics look for inspiration and guidance. For example, the late Robert Solomon of the University of Texas at Austin, in his book Living With Nietzsche, proclaims Nietzsche to be the most insightful and relevant thinker for our time.
How can this be? Nietzsche was openly and contemptuously opposed to most of the cardinal tenets of modern liberalism. For instance, he hated democracy and equality and proclaimed both to be the pathetic legacy of Christianity. He denounced socialism in even-more-harsh terms, declaring it fit for only cows and women. Speaking of women, Nietzsche was not exactly a feminist. Among his pungent sayings: "Whenever a woman is a scholar there is usually something wrong with her sex organs." Or, "When thou goest to woman, do not forget thy whip."
In addition, Nietzsche exalts what he terms "master morality" and condemns what he terms "slave morality." And what is slave morality? Basically it is the liberal virtue of compassion which Nietzsche treats entirely as a vice. For Nietzsche it is the losers of society--the slaves--who have invented compassion as a virtue in order to tie down the masters who rightly and uninhibitedly dominate them. Nietzsche views slave morality as motivated by resentment, jealousy and inferiority complex all masquerading as righteousness. You cannot embrace Nietzsche's doctrine without seeing, say, Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King in an entirely new light.
Moreover, Nietzsche condemns compassion even on the part of the giver. Nietzsche argues that "to see others suffer does one good" and that "to be unwilling to help can be nobler than the virtue which jumps to help." Nietzsche declares that compassion, far from being praiseworthy, is actually a cunning way for people to make themselves feel superior to others, and then to congratulate themselves for being in a position to help those lower people. Again, one comes away from reading Nietzsche with a far less benign view of people like George Soros and Nancy Pelosi.
So why does the cultural left, as represented by liberal intellectuals like Solomon, love Nietzsche so much? I think there are two reasons. The first is that Nietzsche is a rabid atheist. Not only does Nietzsche declate that "God is dead" but he also insists that Western society must rid itself of all vestiges of Christian morality. This goes way beyond atheists like Richard Dawkins who feebly proclaim themselves "cultural Christians."
Second, Nietzsche is an unabashed elitist. He contrasts the elite with what he terms "the herd." This is a wonderful distinction that enables half-educated liberals to say to themselves, "Hey, when Nietzsche scorns the herd he must be talking about my parents and my pastor and all those people who think that I am a selfish loser and a nerd. And when Nietzsche praises the lone rebel who dares to reject morality in the name of a higher conscience, well, he must have had me in mind!"
P.S. Read the childish and abusive reaction from atheists (including some who can do no better than pretend to be me) to see that this analysis strikes a chord. "When you cannot answer a man's argument, do not panic. You can always call him names."
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 27)
1. Hello, my name is Dinesh D'Souza. I am a complete idiot. Do not trust anything I write, because I am an opinionated bigoted asshole and I write lies because my inferior intellect cannot comprehend the truth, about anything. My name is Hello, my name is Dinesh D'Souza. I am a complete idiot. Do not trust anything I write, because I am an opinionated bigoted asshole and I write lies because my inferior intellect cannot comprehend the real truth, about anything. I are dum!
Dinesh D'Souza at 1:09AM on Jun 23rd 2008
2.
You set this all up for a lame attack against atheists?
Do you even realize you are judging a 100 year daed person with modern sensibilities?
mac at 1:14AM on Jun 23rd 2008
3. My name is Dinesh D'Souza. My fantasy is to be in bed with George Bush and he is eating off my edible panties while Anne Coulter watches and whips my butt cheeks with a cat-o-nine-tails. Holy Jesus that hurts so good! I want to feel it sting me, deep. I want to be the bottom. I want to take my commander deep inside me, so deep I can feel his pulse. I can taste his breath on my tongue so close I could lick his....
Dinesh D\\\'Souza at 1:14AM on Jun 23rd 2008
4. DoubleD, if Nietzsche had not declared 'god is dead', his philososophy would have been 100% compatible with you christists, and you would be writing glowing reviews of Nietchsze's works.
In your last sentence, dates should be dares. Secondly, you forgot to add controversial to your filed under.
JefFlyingV at 1:14AM on Jun 23rd 2008
5. Well Duh, why wouldn't us atheists love Nietzsche, he is a rabid atheist! All of his elitist faults can be forgiven just as long as he is on the right path. To tell you the truth Dinesh, Nietzsche is dead so I don't really care what he thought of others since they are more than likely dead to.
JimCO at 1:17AM on Jun 23rd 2008
6. My name is Dinesh D'Souza. I sit at my computer completely naked while I spread garlic butter on my privates. Then, with the help of my rubber magic backbone I accomplish the impossible by tossing my own salad, all the while... I am writing my latest and greatest scathing articles. Welcome to my twisted world where nothing makes any sense... specially to me!
Dinesh D'Souza at 1:42AM on Jun 23rd 2008
7. Who is Robert Solomon and how long has he been dead? Most importantly, why do you fathom that he speaks for all liberals or athiests, or anyone other than himself for that matter?
You're a pathetic hack DD!
Tim at 1:31AM on Jun 23rd 2008
8.
Dinesh,
Nietzsche might have had you in mind when he said, "Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
nameken at 1:48AM on Jun 23rd 2008
9. As soon as DD explains why prayer is so utterly powerless to effect physical change, I'll jet off a penny to whatever cause he holds dear. Google "amputees/prayer" for a glimpse into the strange world of rationality.
momb7 at 1:50AM on Jun 23rd 2008
10. So Nietzsche was an asshole. So what? The world has no lack of people who thing that consideration, tolerance, patience, and empathy are beneath them. Heck, I'm one of them, when the wind's north by north west. The false connection that you're drawing, Dinesh, is by claiming that Nietzsche is a representative of liberalism.
An elitist snob with over inflated notions of his own ego? You bet. But a liberal? Where do you get that? I've never, in my political history or philosophy, ever seen liberalism attested to Nietzsche nor have I ever heard a liberal who knows about his philosophical leanings call him such. It would be like me saying molesting priests are representative of catholics.
More to the point... who's this Solomon you're refering to? Are you missing a paragraph somewhere? Is it Robert Solomon? In that case he's merely expounding on some, not all, of the premises that Nictzsche presented. And even if Robert Solomon agrees with Nictzsche, he is no more a representative of atheism (let alone liberalism) than Hitchens or Dawkins.
Allow me to give you a sad fact, Dinesh. If there were no Nichzsche I would still be an atheist. If there were no Hitchens or Dawkins or Solomons, I would still be an atheist. My mind is simply no longer wired in such a way as to allow that belief. My attitude towards the possibility of God is that if it did exist, then God is either the most monstrous and arbitrary being in existance or the most pitiful schmuck to ever dare create something that could think for itself. These are my ideals, made by my observations of the universe, and no pithy argument about how Nictzsche was an asshole is going to sway me to abandon those ideals.
You want to know who I look to for liberal ideals? MLK. Ghandi. Albert Enstein. JRR Tolkien. Issac Asimov. Ben Franklin. Even Jefferson, no matter how impractical I think he might be.
You want to know another person I look to for liberal ideals?
Jesus Christ.
How's that, coming from an Atheist?
Somber at 1:54AM on Jun 23rd 2008
11. Christianity is not mentioned in the 'Filed under' headings.
Hey pinhead Mike, if yer browsing... this is NOT a Christian blog.
Too bad no-one gives a crap what Nietzsche, Solomon or anyone else D'Souza mentions thinks anyways.
not-pboyfloyd at 1:57AM on Jun 23rd 2008
12. D'Souza claims that Nietschze is "probably the leading philosopher to whom liberal intellectuals and academics look for inspiration and guidance." And to prove it, he quotes one guy,Robert Solomon of Austin, Texas who nobody as ever heard of!
Is this what passes for thinking among conservative Republican theists?
Logician at 2:23AM on Jun 23rd 2008
13. DD "So why does the cultural left, as represented by liberal intellectuals like Solomon, love Nietzsche so much?"
Wow, that about sums it up. Take some random guy and say that he speaks for an entire group.
WEAK!
Ryan Anderson at 2:43AM on Jun 23rd 2008
14. Jesse if you pucker on Dineshes penis any harder, he'll give you a full meal of Superman seminary juice. Don't forget to tell him what good company he is in.
sparrow at 3:00AM on Jun 23rd 2008
15.
A favorite trick of DD is telling atheists who their leaders are, no matter how much he knows it's not true.
mac at 3:19AM on Jun 23rd 2008