OLD NEWS...But, What the Hey!


Nietzsche’s idea of slave morality is no more dangerous than, let’s
say, the bible. It is what people end up doing in the name of an
idea which is dangerous. The drive for a “higher self,” in both
cases, is a spiritual quest open to misinterpretation. Slave
morality is like a state of atheist purgatory for those who cannot
break from the herd and stand as individuals. The underman,
condemned to live within the limitations of society, resents and
envies the overman’s individuality.

Nietzsche’s philosophy clearly predicts the effect of the modern
world on human beings: disillusionment with traditional values and
less dependency on others for survival. The issue of his highly
charged language (slave, god is dead, uberman) is a problem in
itself, and is where most of the disagreement about what Nietzsche
meant can seem dangerous.

It is unfair to think that people should not carry some resentment
for the dominant culture. Since the beginning of human society, that
which is different is a danger to the whole. So in a way, all of us
have had to suppress our individualistic urges to get along and
thrive within our culture.

However, the truest expression of Nietzsche’s ressentiment can be
found in the guise of entitlement and political correctness. The
notion that people are helpless victims of past events and therefore
entitled to whatever (a good grade, the benefit of the doubt) is, I
feel, unhealthy in the long run. The individual will never out in a
situation like this, but wallow, powerless to break free of the
forces that shaped him.