This was excellent except for the last two chapters. I am pretty sure that Trump and elite oriented capitalism is much more in line with Neitzsche's views.
Or did I misunderstand?
EDIT: Crazy down voting in this comment thread.
Or did I misunderstand?
EDIT: Crazy down voting in this comment thread.
Though it would be easy to think, the last man, as Nietzsche describes them, are people who above all want everyone in society to be happy and without pain, being equal and without hardship. The Übermensch, the opposite, is someone or a society which constantly works to learn something new, to "can do", to enrich oneself and attempt to go beyond their own limitations.
I think my Ethics teacher put it "trying to interpret master/slave morality or the Übermensch as a political instrument is misguided at best, harmful at worst".
Nietzsche himself, to my knowledge, has hinted at his dislike for capitalism, communism or socialism, money or work. But part of his musings are that these are merely subjective standpoints and that there is no objectively right option here.
In summary, you could probably say that Nietzsche wasn't against elite-oriented capitalism in the sense that he did not reject it as viewpoint, it's subjective so it's a correct option.
So in Nietzsche's view, the person Trump is doing pretty well because he doesn't seem to follow anybody. But Trump's fans would be his textbook example of how mankind is losing its way.
The Gay Science is a great and accessible read - I recommend the Kaufmann translation, personally. It contains Nietzsche's views on a lot of subjects.
I would also add that he makes clear his preferences are just that, preferences. A major point of his moral philosophy is that morality is not objective, but a social behavior, the "herd instinct in the individual."
It's probably just an academic brain-fart. They see Trump as some kind of aberration rather than business-as-usual, so he gets woven into almost everything these days.
This hedonistic life is exemplified by Trump and Twitter and how we don’t struggle. Instead, we tweet, voice opinions and continue with our happiness maximizing lives.
The author is suggesting that since we live in a culture that maximizes happiness, the nihilists were right. In this world, according to Neitzsche, humans can not achieve excellence.
I agree that it’s a rather abrupt point made at the very end. Probably something the author will expand upon in his book.