Nietzsche’s Praise of Master Morality: The Question of Fascism Revisited

One of the most disquieting facts about the totalitarian movements of communism and fascism which threatened the European political order in the interwar period is the support both these movements appear to derive from the writings of two of the most important European philosophers of the 19th cent...

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Autor principal:	William Peter Wood
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN PL
Publicado:	Ksiegarnia Akademicka Publishing 2021
Materias:	Nietzsche political philosophy fascism Law K Political science J
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f56bbe59691f42ce94b221270e96b703
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f56bbe59691f42ce94b221270e96b7032021-11-27T13:10:54ZNietzsche’s Praise of Master Morality: The Question of Fascism Revisited10.12797/Politeja.18.2021.72.071733-67162391-6737https://doaj.org/article/f56bbe59691f42ce94b221270e96b7032021-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.akademicka.pl/politeja/article/view/3788https://doaj.org/toc/1733-6716https://doaj.org/toc/2391-6737 One of the most disquieting facts about the totalitarian movements of communism and fascism which threatened the European political order in the interwar period is the support both these movements appear to derive from the writings of two of the most important European philosophers of the 19th century, Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche. The destruction of Western civilization seems to have been engendered by Western civilization itself. It is commonplace to charge that Bolshevism represented a travesty of Marx’s ideas, just as Nazism represented a travesty of Nietzsche’s ideas. But while it is impossible to describe Nietzsche as a fascist avant la lettre, it is no less untenable to maintain that there is no connection whatsoever between his ideas and the ideological turmoil which brought Europe to the brink of destruction in the first half of the 20th century. My paper examines the locus classicus of proto-fascist elements in Nietzsche’s writings – his praise of “master morality” in the First Treatise of the Genealogy of Morality. I argue that when Nietzsche’s praise of master morality is approached with a proper appreciation of the distinction Nietzsche himself makes between “the exoteric and the esoteric,” the proto-fascist elements in his rhetoric reveal themselves to be playful, ironic and intentionally self-undermining, and subservient to Nietzsche’s goals of philosophical pedagogy. Yet, at the same time, this insight does not absolve Nietzsche of the charge of fatal irresponsibility in the rhetoric he chose to employ. William Peter WoodKsiegarnia Akademicka PublishingarticleNietzschepolitical philosophyfascismLawKPolitical scienceJENPLPoliteja, Vol 18, Iss 3(72) (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN PL
topic	Nietzsche political philosophy fascism Law K Political science J
spellingShingle	Nietzsche political philosophy fascism Law K Political science J William Peter Wood Nietzsche’s Praise of Master Morality: The Question of Fascism Revisited
description	One of the most disquieting facts about the totalitarian movements of communism and fascism which threatened the European political order in the interwar period is the support both these movements appear to derive from the writings of two of the most important European philosophers of the 19th century, Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche. The destruction of Western civilization seems to have been engendered by Western civilization itself. It is commonplace to charge that Bolshevism represented a travesty of Marx’s ideas, just as Nazism represented a travesty of Nietzsche’s ideas. But while it is impossible to describe Nietzsche as a fascist avant la lettre, it is no less untenable to maintain that there is no connection whatsoever between his ideas and the ideological turmoil which brought Europe to the brink of destruction in the first half of the 20th century. My paper examines the locus classicus of proto-fascist elements in Nietzsche’s writings – his praise of “master morality” in the First Treatise of the Genealogy of Morality. I argue that when Nietzsche’s praise of master morality is approached with a proper appreciation of the distinction Nietzsche himself makes between “the exoteric and the esoteric,” the proto-fascist elements in his rhetoric reveal themselves to be playful, ironic and intentionally self-undermining, and subservient to Nietzsche’s goals of philosophical pedagogy. Yet, at the same time, this insight does not absolve Nietzsche of the charge of fatal irresponsibility in the rhetoric he chose to employ.
format	article
author	William Peter Wood
author_facet	William Peter Wood
author_sort	William Peter Wood
title	Nietzsche’s Praise of Master Morality: The Question of Fascism Revisited
title_short	Nietzsche’s Praise of Master Morality: The Question of Fascism Revisited
title_full	Nietzsche’s Praise of Master Morality: The Question of Fascism Revisited
title_fullStr	Nietzsche’s Praise of Master Morality: The Question of Fascism Revisited
title_full_unstemmed	Nietzsche’s Praise of Master Morality: The Question of Fascism Revisited
title_sort	nietzsche’s praise of master morality: the question of fascism revisited
publisher	Ksiegarnia Akademicka Publishing
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/f56bbe59691f42ce94b221270e96b703
work_keys_str_mv	AT williampeterwood nietzschespraiseofmastermoralitythequestionoffascismrevisited
_version_	1718408718971830272

Nietzsche’s Praise of Master Morality: The Question of Fascism Revisited

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