I was digging around in the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) blog, when I came across this alarming unsigned post under the heading “Virtue”, dated September 21, 2007. “Virtue” alludes to the “great German philosopher, Nietzsche”. Digging a little deeper, I came across another article quoting Nietzsche in a reply to Hartley Henry.
“Man is Very Well Defended Against Himself“, September 18, 2007. By the tone of these two posts, it is clear that the author has great respect and admiration for this philosopher. (Note: The above two links are anonymous. If you wish to link directly to the BLP blog use these links: Virtue and Man is Very Well… )
Who is Nietzsche?
The BLP quotes are from Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 – 1900), the German philosopher. Despite his intellect, Nietzsche lived a tortured life as he battled mental problems. He is infamous for his hatred of the church and the use of his philosophy by the Nazi regime.
Nietzsche was opposed to many things dear to Barbadians. Here are some of his views:
- Domination and Violence:
- Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Nietzsche glorified power. He despised virtues like piety and humility. He could not bear the glorification of meekness, which he called weakness. Nietzsche looked for a developed superman who would surpass man as man surpassed the ape.”
- “They don’t seem to understand that Nietzsche wasn’t particularly interested in things like that, but, more to the point, legitimizing rape, murder, torture, pillage, domination, and political oppression by the strong.”
- Nietzsche himself wrote “What is good? — Everything that heightens the feeling of power in man, the will to power, power itself.” (Nietzsche – The Antichrist)
- He also wrote: “The thought of suicide is a powerful solace: by means of it one gets through many a bad night”
- Christianity - two quotes from an article entitled: Sublime Hatred: Nietzsche’s Anti-Christianity
- “Nietzsche burns with hatred toward Christianity, and his atheistic writings are extremely vitriolic.”
- Are you a Church-goer like me? Hear what Nietzsche said about us in the same article. He alludes to Christians as: “the whole scum and refuse of humanity who were thus won over to it.”
- Other sources report that rock musician, Marilyn Manson, is a follower of both Anton LaVey (founder, Church of Satan) and Nietzsche. LaVey also drew heavily from Nietzsche.
- Views on women
- “Nietzsche believed that the ultimate mission and function of human marriage was the breeding of a race of supermen and he saw very clearly that fortuitous pairing would never bring this about.” He was talking about selective breeding!
- Nietzsche love life was pathetic: “Did Nietzsche’s philosophy arise from his lack of success with women?”
- “You are going to women? Do not forget the whip.” (words of Nietzsche character “old woman”)
- Government - opposed to democracy
- Nietzsche was opposed to democracy “ ……Nietzsche’s denigration of Christianity and democracy, and his ardent praise of strife and violence…”
- Although scholars claim that Nietzsche’s idealogy was not compatible with Nazi idealogy, Hitler greatly admired him and drew on his work extensively! Nietzsche & Nazi Germany
- His mental condition
- “There can be little doubt of how Nietzsche would have been managed by psychiatrists of today. He would have been diagnosed with manic depressive psychosis (current terminology uses the less meaningful term bipolar disease).” Link: see 13th paragraph
- “On the morning of January 3, 1889, while in Turin, Nietzsche experienced a mental breakdown which left him an invalid for the rest of his life.” Link: See 9th paragraph in “Life”
But it is just two posts, published several weeks ago…..
Suppose it were discovered today that three months ago a leading American leader had made, at a private party, a single comment espousing the Nazi philosophy. No one would say that this was just one comment. The public would demand that he explain and withdraw his comment.
Review
The Church despised him. Women did not find him attractive. This was an impotent man who could not even control his own tortured and painful existence. So who takes him on? The BLP. Who else? Marilyn Manson! To top it all, Nietzsche was Adolph Hitler’s favourite philosopher. BLP has some explaining to do!
Postscript: The Republic and the Constitution
The BLP is proposing a referendum on Barbados becoming a Republic to be held simultaneously with the upcoming election. If this referendum passes, the constitution will have to be rewritten. I can visualize an egotistic leader sitting, pen in hand, at a large mahogany table with a copy of Nietzsche’s “The Antichrist” open on the left and the Constitution of Barbados on the right. A prudent person might not want BLP idealogues rewriting the constitution to form a republic. If they follow Nietzsche they will draft a totalitarian republic!
Next: Barbadian Threats of Violence - Were They Inspired by Nietzsche?
10 users commented in " Does BLP Rely on Same Crazy German Philosopher as Rock Star Marilyn Manson? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackHitler misunderstood Nietzsche, neither Marilyn Mansion nor Owen Arthur could hope to comprehend Nietzsche’s writings. He is far too complex, and bi-polar to be taken literally or figuratively with much certainty.
Having read “The Antichrist”, I find it a little difficult to accept a general statement that Nietzsche hated Christianity. The tone in which Nietzsche ends that work, is one of distrust, regret and
hate for the philosophy of Paul and destruction of Rome, in fact he handles Jesus with kids gloves…never very critical of his philosophy. Going as far as to suggest Jesus was the only Christian. There is throughout the work a significant anti-jewish theme (especially priesthood) Considering
his bombastic and vitriolic attacks on Socrates, Wagner and even his former “idol” Schopenhauer, and the dismissal of Kant’s “Pure Reason” as pure foolishness, Jesus gets off light.
In conclusion to “The Antichrist” the intellect of Nietzsche shines through, as he implies the irony of “Christianity” of Paul being antithetical to the philosophy of the man they idolized Jesus, more ironically the same would happen to Nietzsche through Nazism.
Nietzsche is not for the faint of heart, and certainly proposes many an objectionable idea. He can be very offensive, and demands of the reader tremendous discipline and control of passions. Though his genius and madness is clear for all to see in his paper trail…he never proposes any philosophical system. Rather he suggests that philosophical systems be used for the perspectives they offer…rather than an attempt at defining all of reality. This is a clear break from philosophers like Descartes and Kant. Often he proposes a “greatest idea” e.g “Will to Power” “Ubermensch” “Eternal Recurrence” but collectively they do not coalesce into any one meta-idea
except maybe the idea that you should engage all ideas for at least some moment of time.
Nietzsche’s “Twilight of the Idols” is a valuable warning to Western Christian societies, playing the sheep is no defence against a wolf pack, faithfully praying for redemption from a magnanimous shepherd is a recipe for disaster, Hitler came to power not because German people had some untapped urge for military conquest…but because the paramount of it’s society was weak and sheepish. Nietzsche is not to be taken lightly, some consider his works prophetic even if there is an element of self-fulfillment in the fact that many of the agents of the nightmarish future he proposed, read his work. I suppose his can be sum up as a world of Twilight, the criticism/admiration of him thus..often says more about the critics/admirers than it does about Nietzsche.
It is quite fitting that, the dialectic mess of Plato through Socrates (my opinion based on the fact that almost all we know of Socrates is through Plato) and Plato’s problematic dualism (Soma/Sema) would bubble up as rage in a philosopher who tried to resurrect the Dionysian. He then went crazy, ending as one of the most polarizing philosophers of Western Civilization….YET the blood is not for his hands only, nor Hitler’s…but for the idiotic dualism of the Socratics and the Nihilism it spawn 2200 years later.
Christianity is going to need a new bag of tricks if it is to defend itself from, his brew of the Dionysian and the Apollonian.
I have done a little digging too. Here is what he Stanford Encylopedia says about Nietzche. Shame on you for trying to mislead the uninformed. In this you remind me of the Nazis. Just as they twisted Nietzche’s work for their own nefarious ends, so too have you.
Excellent discourse Makavelli.
Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher of the late 19th century who challenged the foundations of Christianity and traditional morality. He believed in life, creativity, health, and the realities of the world we live in, rather than those situated in a world beyond. Central to his philosophy is the idea of “life-affirmation,” which involves an honest questioning of all doctrines that drain life’s energies, however socially prevalent those views might be. Often referred to as one of the first existentialist philosophers, Nietzsche’s revitalizing philosophy has inspired leading figures in all walks of cultural life, including dancers, poets, novelists, painters, psychologists, philosophers, sociologists and social revolutionaries.
Makaveli,
Thanks for your well-written input. I appreciate the high tone of your comments, although your opinion is diametrically opposed to mine.
I am interested in this phrase: “… nor Owen Arthur could hope to comprehend Nietzsche’s writings”
Does this imply that Mr. Arthur is not a follower of Nietzsche and that we might soon be seeing a revolt against his leadership in the Barbados Labour Party?
Inspector Poirot,
Thank you for taking the time to contribute. I accept that every one has, at the very least, some redeeming qualities.
I would be grateful if you would share your views by answering these two questions:
Which parts of Nietzsche’s philosophy should the BLP adopt?
In your opinion, does Nietzsche express any views that are at variance with current BLP idealogy?
It’s very difficult to follow Nietzsche, having also read “Will to power” I believe you can use it quite effectively, with some twisting, to mold an effective totalitarian regime. The only missing ingredient might be “The Prince” in doing so you wouldn’t necessarily have to be a Nietzsche disciple.
Inspector Poirot’s comment on life affirmation is very important. You can’t begin an understanding at the 19th century, because most of what Nietzsche opposes is a decadence which was encapsulated by the Socratics in 300bc times. What is often not mentioned is the fact that he was a brilliant scholar in classics, if i’m not mistaken he was professor at age 26 (university of Basel) having recieved his PHD from Leipzig at 25. So he goes far back in western philosophy and works his way into a future, the 20th century with vigor. At the end of this journey we are all urged to re-evaluate all values, and to place as paramount those values which elevate “themselves” and humanity, values which affirm life. Values that produce even higher values, as oppose to values that devalue
themselves. those devaluing values when made paramount was what Nietzsche was referring to as Nihilism. Nietzsche was not a nihilist, if you have read “Also sprach Zarathustra” this should be clear.
Owen can use “Will to Power” and yet not understand Nietzsche. Thousands of Bajans drive cars, how many really understand how they work?
[…] be surprised. There is evidence that some members of the BLP have adopted the philosophy of Nietzsche. Nietzsche hated Christians. He wanted to eradicate Christianity. One BLP supported posted a […]
[…] philosophy For instance, the BLP appears to be following the philosophy of the atheist author of “the Anti-Christ”, as evidenced by their […]
I’m a couple years late to this but must say that the original post reaffirms the fact that it is the love and duty of the wicked and malicious to misguide the ignorant. Shame on you to not learn the truth of things.
Bob McAdoo,
I have provided documentation to support my opinion. I would be grateful if you would share the documentation to support your opinion.
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