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Anarchist Engagements with Nietzsche’s “Will to Power”

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Zusammenfassung

When the First World War broke out, public opinion particularly in English-speaking countries turned against Friedrich Nietzsche. His “will to power” philosophy fell into ill repute as the ideology of German military aggression in Europe. Only a small minority objected to this view, among them anarchists who developed a more nuanced approach to Nietzsche’s thought. Not only did they defend the philosopher against such accusations, they laid claim to anti-authoritarian and even pacifist readings of Nietzsche’s “will to power.” Interpreting the motif as an aesthetic strategy of self-restraint, these dissidents encouraged individuals to refuse conscription and withdraw their participation from the oppressive political structures of State power.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Orage 1914, p. 149 f. Emphasis in the original. Reference to the quote found in Sommer 2016, p. 38.

  2. 2.

    For more details on Orage’s influence on anarchist intellectuals, see Miething 2016a, pp. 257; 299 ff.; 322 ff. and 345.

  3. 3.

    Landauer in a letter to Julius Bab (16 June 1903). As quoted in Landauer 2011, p. 10 f. Translation is mine.

  4. 4.

    The “will to power” appears in Beyond Good and Evil, On the Genealogy of Morality, and The Gay Science.

  5. 5.

    See the reevaluation of Förster-Nietzsche’s role (Holub 2002) and a rebuttal of the same (Niemeyer 2014).

  6. 6.

    See, for example, FW §13, GM-II §18, AC §17, or JGB §259.

  7. 7.

    See also Golomb/Wistrich 2002. Considering Nietzsche’s derision of democracy, his anti-feminism as well as his praise of war for the sake of war itself, Bernhard H.F. Taureck has most recently made the case for calling Nietzsche a “proto-fascist” thinker, see Newmark 2017.

  8. 8.

    See for a chronological list of these lectures: Miething 2016a, p. 525 f. Missing from this list are at least two additional lectures given on 10/12 April 1914 at the International Labor Hall in Chicago at 8 pm, as advertised in Max Baginski’s InternationaleArbeiter-Chronik (Chicago), 1. Jg., Nr. 1, 30. März 1914.

  9. 9.

    Leigh 1915, p. 278 f. Reference to the article found in Starcross 2004, p. 34 but quoted from the original due to misquotation in Ibid.

  10. 10.

    Baginski 1914: 3. Translation is mine. The original German reads: “Londoner Blätter haben die Behauptung in Umlauf gesetzt, Friedrich Nietzsches Philosophie sei für die europäische Kriegsschlächterei verantwortlich zu machen. Nietzsche habe den ‚Willen zur Macht,‘ ‚das Recht des Starken‘ proklamiert. Und Deutschland habe auf diesen Pfeilern seinen furchtbaren Militarismus erbaut. Wer von Nietzsche mehr kennt wie diese Ausdrücke, weiss, dass diese Behauptung ein Ausfluss völliger Verständnisslosigkeit ist. Nietzsche lehnte Bismarck ab, dem nach dem grossen Siege im Kriege gegen Frankreich, Deutschlands ‚Dichter und Denker‘ winselnd die Füsse küssten. Nietzsche zu unterstellen, er habe in den Repräsentanten äusserer barbarischer Gewalt den Beginn der Aera des Uebermenschen gewittert, das sollte höchstens einem Quartaner passiren, der von den Attacken der grossen Reitergeneräle schwärmt.”

  11. 11.

    For an excellent account of Lloyd’s activities, see Kissack 2008.

  12. 12.

    Bourne to Alyse Gregory (September 8, 1913), in Sandeen 1981: 133.

  13. 13.

    See also Bourne 1977b, which makes clear that he derives this observation primarily from Nietzsche. This is not to neglect other possible influences from others such as Wilfred Trotter, see Moreau 1966: 179.

  14. 14.

    The reference to “The Euro-Nietzschean War” most likely stems from the journal The New Age to which Coomaraswamy himself contributed articles. A bookseller had used this slogan in an advertisement in the issue of 1 October 1914. See Joll 1973: 305.

  15. 15.

    See the chapter “The Rejection of Politics II. Anselm Ruest and Der Einzige” in Taylor 1990: 142–163, particularly 150 f. See also Parvulescu 2006.

  16. 16.

    Translation from the German is based on Taylor 1990: 154. Translation of the first sentence missing in Taylor is mine.

  17. 17.

    For a comprehensive account and documentation of the correspondence between Gandhi and de Ligt, see Bartolf 2000.

  18. 18.

    The author incorrectly quotes the title of the journal as “Blätter für Bekämpfung des Machtwillens”. A more recent Kafka biography (Alt 2005: 449) gives the correct title but does not mention the anarchist interconnection.

  19. 19.

    For acomprehensive account of Brupbacher, Read and Rocker’s readings of Nietzsche, see Miething 2016a.

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  1. Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Dominique Miething

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  1. Dominique Miething
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Correspondence to Dominique Miething .

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  1. Philosophische Fakultät Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

    Christine Magerski

  2. Monash University Melbourne, Clayton, Australia

    David Roberts

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Miething, D. (2019). Anarchist Engagements with Nietzsche’s “Will to Power”. In: Magerski, C., Roberts, D. (eds) Kulturrebellen – Studien zur anarchistischen Moderne. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-22275-8_4

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