Would it be correct to say that Friedrich Nietzsche is the father of fascism?

skatharaki

Hmmm, I always thought it was Benito Mussolini. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benito_Mussolini Mar 29 09, 7:33 PM

queproblema

This site says so, right under his picture. http://www.riseofislam.com/rise_of_faith_08.html This one sort of implies it. "The response to the French Revolution and Rousseau, by Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, and others, poured into an intellectual stew which served up Marxism, socialism, national socialism, fascism, modern liberalism, modern conservatism, communism, and a variety of forms of capitalist participatory democracy." http://remember.org/hist.root.what.html I wouldn't necessarily say so, though--maybe the grandfather or great-uncle. (I'm totally perplexed by the first two posts. Didn't we have a similar question recently?) Mar 29 09, 7:46 PM

author

You are right to be perplexed, queproblema. A similar question was recently posted. However, I think this queston needs another twist. For example, what was the role of Nietzsche's sister? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nietzsche_Archive Mar 29 09, 8:02 PM

star_gazer

The wide popularity of Nietzsche among Nazis stemmed in part from the endeavors of his sister, Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, the editor of Nietzsche's work after his 1889 breakdown, and an eventual Nazi sympathizer. Moreover, Mazzino Montinari, while editing Nietzsche's posthumous works in the 1960s, found that Förster-Nietzsche, while editing the posthumous fragments making up The Will to Power, had cut extracts, changed their order, added titles of her own invention, included passages of others authors copied by Nietzsche as if they had been written by Nietzsche himself, etc. Georges Bataille was one of the first to denounce the deliberate misinterpretation of Nietzsche carried out by Nazis, including Bauemler and Alfred Rosenberg. He dedicated in January 1937 an issue of Acéphale, titled "Reparations to Nietzsche," to the theme "Nietzsche and the Fascists. " There, he called Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche "Elisabeth Judas-Förster," recalling Nietzsche's declaration: "To never frequent anyone whom is involved in this bare-faced fraud concerning races." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influence_and_reception_of_Friedrich_Nietzsche Mar 29 09, 9:29 PM

zbeckabee

A bit more on this being the case: There is certainly enough in Nietzsche’s writings to see how fascists might take him as their own philosopher. Perhaps the most startling is found in the first treatise of On the Genealogy of Morality (1887). Nietzsche first describes how the strong and noble men eventually succumbed to the slave morality promoted by the weak and insidious, as if birds of prey were coaxed by lambs into believing that it is a sin to be a predator, and a great virtue to be a prey. These predators internalize the values preached by the lambs, and their behavior is kept in check by customs, social mores, and “mutual surveillance.” But, Nietzsche continues, once those predators are placed in foreign territory, where the rule by lambs is no longer effective, there is a radical change in their behavior. A quantum of power, he goes on to explain, just is its expression; it is a philosophical or grammatical illusion to believe in some hidden “doer” behind the action, issuing behaviors according to its conscious control. To be powerful is to do things expressing that power. Thus it is impossible to expect a beast of prey to ever truly be a lamb. Power will out. It is hard to read these passages as anything other than a ringing endorsement of letting the beast-of-prey conscience range freely. It is but a short step from this endorsement to full-blown fascism. The elements are all in place. A core theme of Nietzsche’s thought is inegalitarianism, or elitism: clearly, some people are better than others (healthier, freer, stronger). http://huenemanniac.wordpress.com/2008/11/11/nietzsches-fascism/ Mar 29 09, 9:37 PM

star_gazer

It is clear that Elisabeth distorted Nietzsche’s philosophy in serious ways. Nietzsche was of course no German nationalist; he prided himself on being “a good European,” and practically disowned his German nationality (in his autobiography, he claimed bizarrely to be descended from Polish nobility). He was no anti-Semite, and loathed the anti-Semites of his time, including his brother-in-law, Bernhard Förster. (It would be fairer, though, to call him an “anti-anti-Semite,” rather than any devoted defender of Judaism.) He wrote glowingly of wars, and the strength one gains through battle, but he surely would not have approved of the nationalistic swagger that resulted in two world wars. http://huenemanniac.wordpress.com/2008/11/11/nietzsches-fascism/ Mar 30 09, 12:39 AM

author

The book by Nietzsche, The Will of Power, was published by his sister after Nietzsche's death. It is unclear whether Nietzsche would have published it himself, and it was severely manipulated by his sister. It seems clear to me that he would have despised Hitler's nationalism and anti-semittism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Will_to_Power_(manuscript) The word "Übermensch" ("Super-human") used by Nietzche does not necessarily have a meaning related to Fascism/Nazism. But that would be another (and interesting) discussion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Cbermensch Mar 30 09, 3:30 PM