Nietzsche and the State

A long-overdue return to Strike-the-Root. This is my favorite of the columns I’ve written so far this year, and one that I think my readers will enjoy as well. I’m planning on doing two follow up pieces, “Gasset and the State” and “Nietzsche contra Gasset,” but you’ll have to make do with this one for now.

Nietzsche and the State
By Michael Kleen

Exclusive to STR

“Where the state ends—look there, my brothers! Do you not see it, the rainbow and the bridges of the overman?”

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) is one of the most famous of the modern philosophers. A prolific writer on just about every subject, his views on the modern state have been largely overshadowed by his critique of morality, which is a shame because despite the adoption of his philosophy by political movements after his death, Nietzsche held a very clear and consistently critical view of the subject throughout his adult life. In his more sober moments, he saw the modern state as nothing more than a vehicle for mass power and as a squanderer of exceptional talent. In his most feverish moods, the state was “a cold monster” and a base falsehood…

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