This partially extensive essay is divided into two parts: The Profile of an Übermensch and Ideological Escapism.
- PART 1: The makings of the Übermensch are laid out along with Nietzschean perspectives on Christianity and Enlightenment Liberalism. I also dispel prevailing misconceptions surrounding Nietzsche’s Übermensch.
- PART 2: Ideological dogmatism is explored and later contrasted with the higher viewpoints of the Übermensch chaser. Throughout this section, I make guided assumptions based on my intuitive understanding of the Übermensch.
(All movie stills, some of which I edited, were taken from Superman: Red Son (2020) by Sam Liu.)
PART 1: The Profile of an Übermensch
“I teach you the Superman. Man is something that shall be overcome. What have you done to overcome him?”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
In markedly liberal times, it’s not common to come across philosophy enthusiasts who hold a favorable view of Nietzschean philosophy. In fact, I have yet to encounter an establishment liberal who hasn’t already ascribed negative traits to the Übermensch: A type of Superior Man idealized by the great rogue philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche in Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883–85). Otherwise dubbed as the Superman or Overman, the Übermensch is often described as one who could “rise above conventional Christian morality to create and impose his own values.”
The Problem with Establishment Christianity
In The Anti-Christ (1895), Nietzsche vehemently opposed Judeo-Christian morality for all the right, albeit counterintuitive reasons:
- It reduced Christ, an Übermensch-exemplar, into an establishment entity. To Nietzsche, this desacralized the anti-establishment values which Christ personified
- It condemned human nature: that man is part-beast with amoral evolutionary propensities that are not for this reason, evil; and
- It was born out of, as well as nurtured weaker human traits that inhibited man from self-overcoming (e.g., servility, moral supremacy, dogmatism, unfounded guilt, groupthink, escapism, et al.) A slave morality, in other words. Meanwhile, higher traits conducive to self-overcoming such as intense realism, mental autonomy, and the search for one’s truth, were greatly discouraged
Needless to say, so long as these restrictive elements subsist, an Übermensch who can create and impose his higher values will inevitably be in demand. And the Übermensch is all about extricating humanity from self-limiting beliefs being instilled by institutional means. In surmounting self-limitation, humanity is expected to optimize under the Übermensch’s wing; and the succeeding generations, pick up from the solid foundations he laid.
Establishment Liberalism & the Last Man
From darwinist vantage points, Nietzsche admonished against liberal idealism for promoting the use of man’s lower instincts and for calling their gratification ‘progress’.
- Lower Instincts — The impulse to indulge in cheap dopamine and its many enticing forms (e.g., junk food, entertainment, video games, porn, incessant hookups, recreational drugs, and social media); the inability to delay gratification; the constant need for stimulation; short-sighted planning; and the lack of command over human appetites
- ‘Progress’ (in the standard of liberal idealists) — Modern ideas such as equality, scientific dogma, “woke” moralism, atomized individualism (the individual as divorced from the social fabric), crass materialism, — and most of all…
The gradual elimination of natural stressors, without which man fails to evolve into something stronger. Instead, he gradually devolves into a physiologically weaker and domesticated species devoid of basic survival instincts. Nietzsche called him the Last Man, the ‘beginning of the end’ ([1908] 2018: 135); a comfortable consumer aided by technology and industry (Evola 1961: 140); and escapist who boasts of his comfort at the cost of deserving a lineage.
While liberalism provides us with limitless opportunities to enjoy the perks of human innovation, the perks we choose to enjoy are what ultimately determine our evolutionary direction.
But as Last Men inured to instant gratification, we tend to prefer cheap dopamine over the likes of fitness, journaling, and meditation. And we do so despite the remarkable, long-term benefits brought by the latter activities compared to the illusory gratification supplied by cheap dopamine. Ultimately, the difference between those who cultivate the virtues to become an Übermensch and those who personify Last Men is their impulse to detach from cheap fixes.
“When a person can’t find a deep sense of meaning, they distract themselves with pleasure.”
— Viktor Frankl
To cap off this socially relevant segment, I would like to raise a question:
Do you pursue cheap dopamine at the cost of becoming stronger, or do you delay gratification to become the superior man liberalism tried (but failed) to produce?
The Übermensch & the Herd
While the Übermensch might come off as a hyper-individualist who floats above society and is divorced from the herd’s processes, this is not so. On the contrary, the Übermensch is an uprooted extension of the herd. He embraces the social fabric and the reality that like the herd, he too, remains a product of its unique native processes. And while the Übermensch remains unbounded by custom, he maintains a deep respect for it. Rather than defy existing customs, the Übermensch would instead think around them and preserve the customary appearance of things. He makes no attempt whatsoever at severing ties with his origins and his instinct for solidarity is in effect, largely potent.
As an uprooted member of the herd, the Übermensch is ordained by nature to ensure, as well as oversee the herd’s collective ascent. Bear in mind that this endeavor is not driven by the Übermensch’s altruism, but by the socially-oriented bent of his own self-interest.
Despite the characteristics laid out, the Übermensch should not be likened to the shepherd who looks after his flock. Rather, the Übermensch is better epitomized by the strongest ram of the flock who can empathize with its members, lock horns with challengers, and protect the flock from wolves.
The Will to Power & Transmutation
The lower instincts previously described above were, to Nietzsche, detrimental to man’s higher instincts such as the Will to Power and its various modes of expression. To the great philosopher, it was the presence or absence of this Will to Power, or the need to impose our creative will on the rest, which determined our evolutionary trajectories. Humanity either becomes stronger or weaker, as a result of exercising this cardinal will.
The will to power conventionally predates other primal impulses (e.g., self-preservation, sex, the fear of death, envy, insecurity, resentment, et al.), as these eventuate in physical reality in various ways. For instance, while some eminent figures employ charisma and rhetorical prowess to mobilize the collective, others opt for more coercive means for subordinating others to their will.
This leads one to ask: If we don’t suppress the Will to Power, then how can we temper the aggressive, antisocial elements it engenders?
an·ti·so·cial / adj.
contrary to the laws and customs of society; devoid of or antagonistic to sociable instincts or practices.
(Oxford Languages)
The answer is quite simple: by first acknowledging our less cultivated instincts and our natural aggression as Homo sapiens, we can choose to transmute our natural aggression into creative, purpose-driven endeavors. The expression of these are naturally prosocial as it seeks to realign humanity with more transcendent outcomes through one’s creative dexterity.
pro·so·cial / adj.
relating to or denoting behavior which is positive, helpful, and intended to promote social acceptance and friendship.
(Oxford Languages)
These characterize the life’s mission of the Übermensch chaser, and they can manifest in any given vocation. Once again, the answer to the Will to Power and natural aggression is transmutation — not suppression by ideological, nor institutional means.
Bear in mind that the while the Übermensch is inherently compassionate as well as empathic, he isn’t a jovial calf to prey on. On the contrary, the Übermensch will not hesitate to maul the unprincipled, nor reduce them to shrapnels.
The Man of Resentment, or What the Übermensch Isn’t
“Resentment is all that is forbidden to the sick man — it is his worst evil: unfortunately it is also what he most desires.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
Nietzsche is cited as one of the most misinterpreted philosophers for reasons worth enumerating. Due to his incessant tirades on conventional morality, rebellious and often marginalized readers took this as a green light to abandon moral restraint. This includes moral doctrines outside the scope of Judeo-Christian and liberal morality. Oftentimes, this was done on behalf of misdirected attempts at liberation and empowerment at the cost of the public welfare.
As a result of this dynamic, the Übermensch is often confused for the Man of Resentment (aka ‘men of ressentiment’ in Nietzschean lingo.) Indeed, the Man of Resentment may well embody the Übermensch in terms of influential clout, vitality and missionary zeal. (Take Adolf Hitler, for instance.)
But unlike the Übermensch, the Man of Resentment fails to transmute and redirect his natural aggression toward noble endeavors. As a result, his social pursuits tend to be nihilistic and antisocial instead of purpose-driven and prosocial.
res·sen·ti·ment / noun
An existential resentment of other people’s being, caused by an intense mix of envy and sense of humiliation and powerlessness . . .
(Mishra 2017: 14)
By unshackling impulses bent on material gain combined with feelings of inferiority and vengeful indignation, Men of Resentment eventually personify the Politics of Resentment.
More than the need to promote peace, justice, and balance, Men of Resentment are driven by the need to stifle those at an advantage to them. Coupled with other psychic conflicts, they claim to despise the powerful — yet keep trying to associate with, mimic, and be the powerful.
A classic case of Darwinian mimicry.
If anything, empowering resentful types by giving them what they want is akin to giving gun rights to a proud and unbending lunatic. Alas, one doesn’t simply take away another’s Life Force — may it be love for humanity or resentment toward “the privileged other.”
“I’m going to hate those who have found their treasure because I never found mine.”
— Santiago (Paulo Coelho), The Alchemist
Men of Resentment tend to project onto society the insecurities triggered within them by whatever reminds them of their marginal state. As the Left-wing political theorist, Michael Walzer shrewdly expressed,
“Marginal politics attracts marginal people who are ill at ease, resentful, graceless, unhappy, or frightened in the everyday world. . . . The movement liberates them, or leads them to think they are liberated, and so it becomes an arena within which their repressed discontents are acted out . . . often in naive and extravagant ways.”
([1971] 2019: 58)
Paired with ideological backing in the form of misconstrued Nietzschean principles, resentment politics easily gained traction wherever it sprouted. To no surprise, it just as easily wreaked havoc, too.
Throughout history, resentment politics has manifested through the following marginal politics:
- Nazism (which falsely practiced social darwinism through racism); Marxism (which operated on entitlement and envy more than the need for equality); SJW Progressivism (which enabled gluttony, sexual profligacy, anti-white racism, and misandry instead of actual social justice); and Globalism (which espoused global conquest in the name of liberal thought, the very doctrine Nietzsche admonished against. While the Will to Power was used by US expansionists to justify foreign invasions, their core interest was in fact economic, and not ideological.)
As World History illustrates, the compulsive need to entertain appetites similar to the ones above was what prompted the collapse of past civilizations.
Nietzsche ([1908] 2018: 63–64) ultimately had this to say about those who, like primitive men, let their feral instincts infect their higher faculties:
“I do not even count these so-called first men among human beings — for me they are the waste product of mankind, fiends deformed by disease and instincts of revenge; they are all monsters, rotten to the core and sick beyond cure, avenging themselves on life… I choose to be their very opposite.”
In contrast to such men, the Übermensch is far too superior to even bask in raw emotion and self-limiting impulses. Neither is he gaslighted by today’s fashionable ideologies bent on weaponizing these.
PART 2: Ideological Escapism
“We run heedlessly into the abyss after putting something in front of us to stop us seeing it.”
— Blaise Pascal
There is no more susceptible victim to the snares of ideology than modern man. Despite decades spent normalizing the freethinker, man remains clueless about decoding his nature and of knowing his place in the grand scheme. In effect, he is left equally clueless about how to fill the ensuing void inside of him.
- He finds no creative outlet through which his ideals could materialize
- He perceives natural aggression as an “evil” that must be surmounted instead of a creative source to be transmuted. As such, his creative potential remains unrealized
- Due to his inability to execute any mission as a result of his untapped creativity, his sense of purpose attenuates
- Pangs of boredom and lethargy ensue and no amount of stimulation and cheap dopamine is able to alleviate the sensation
To achieve a semblance of a life’s mission he believes would fill the gaping void inside him, he escapes to ideology.
It is such that his newfound sense of purpose fails to be a product of intensive reflection and self-cognizance. Instead, his “purpose” resembles a caricature of a life’s calling instilled in him by political lobbyists and tech advertisers.
“The real purpose comes from within. It is an idea, a calling, a sense of mission that we feel personally and intimately connected to. False purposes come from external sources — belief systems that we swallow whole, conformity to what other people are doing.”
— Robert Greene
Behold, the Ideologue
Whether a Progressive Leftist or Modern Conservative; Authoritarian or Libertarian; Religious Fundamentalist or “freethinking” Scientific Dogmatist, a person who builds his entire identity on ideology is an ideologue.
With this dynamic, ideologues may have spent copious amounts of time and energy investing themselves in their ideological mission. Their pursuits are normally carried out by way of activism, rallying, social media influencing, and whatnot. Here, ideologues are driven by a faux purpose built on precarious foundations such as resentment, low self-esteem, or the need to feel socially valuable. This accounts for their defensive behavior, if not their impulse to take things personally when they feel that their beliefs are being challenged. — No, to the ideologue it is not merely his convictions that are under attack, but his assumed identity and reason for living.
The whole scenario is maladaptive: Rather than being a source of inner strength, the ideologue’s sense of purpose has become the source of his mental anguish and brittle character. Instead of using ideology to accomplish meaningful goals, he lets ideology use him.
Throughout recorded history, ideology has served as a blinder which kept us from confronting our own void. That is, in a sober way devoid of any coping mechanism that enshrines cowardice and escape. By acknowledging this, we are able to pause, reflect, courageously confront the void, and diagnose the root cause of our disgruntlement.
And under such favorable circumstances, a transformative sense of purpose might just reveal itself.
Ideological Myopia
These days, ideologues have had a knack for asserting their intellectual superiority in the following lines:
“Our morally superior and modern ideas will eradicate the evils spawned by the outdated ideas of fanatics.”
(Mind you, history has witnessed the recycling of this rabble many times over. And literally by every major political movement.)
Right off the bat, the ideologue’s perspective is already contaminated by both binary thinking and hypocrisy. Their inability to evaluate complex realities outside narrow ideological confines is just as discernible, too.
These perceptive deficiencies run counter to the higher perspectives of the Übermensch chaser: That fanaticism doesn’t discriminate between value systems and the socioeconomic status, educational attainment, and age of their adherents; and
That reality and its multi-dimensions cannot be filtered through the one-sided lens of ideology. In fact, we can only know so much about the world and its absurdities for us to model any “universally-applicable” value system after it.
And that’s okay. Instead of settling for a mere semblance of certainty which ideology provides, we can take a step back and just surrender to the mystery of life. After all, the road to fulfillment is through the unknown, the uncertain, and the uncomfortable. Truly, a proverbial road less traveled; but to the Übermensch chaser, it’s really the only road that exists.
President for Sale
Like Men of Resentment, ideologues perceive the world through trauma-colored glasses. Here, we speak of unresolved wounds that, with the right advertising and viral effects, could resurface, agitate, and eventuate as Resentment Politics. Oftentimes, skilled advertisers would deliberately invent wounds so as to elicit public hysteria right before selling the cure.
In terms of instigating electoral outcomes, advertisers naturally sell ideology in conjunction with political candidates vying for power. May they be raging demagogues, iron-fisted populists, or mollycoddled democrats, ideology can sell almost anybody to the public.
To the Übermensch chaser, however, all political ideologies are synonymous with propaganda. And in democracies, the value of ideological impact lies not in its ability to improve lives, but in its capacity to translate as majority votes.
Conclusion: Where Smoke & Mirrors Lead Us
In the higher perspective of the Übermensch chaser, ideology is socially valuable insofar as it enables social mobility, mass cooperation, and nothing more. (Still, bear in mind that mass cooperation has hugely accounted for human survival over the past millennia. *See Sapiens (2011) by Yuval Harari.)
Indeed, the value of ideology is mainly hinged on its being a herding mechanism that hoodwinks people into collective action. And as we know, collective action demands cooperation between individuals with shared interests. This is despite the little value ideology adds to its adherents’ lives, let alone their mental health. From broader perspectives ideology has simplified the organization of millions into one tractable unit that can be mobilized productively, as well as destructively.
Whether the Übermensch chaser would throw support for ideology virtually depends on where ideology wants to take him. As such, ideologies clad in Marxist, Liberal, or Conservative garb hardly matter to the Übermensch chaser. To him, these sophisticated abstract concepts are but smoke and mirrors for concealing other undisclosed agendas. So much that ideological promises hardly eventuate without the involvement of other interests that may not always align with ideological values.
In light of the above, the Übermensch chaser may in fact use ideology, but sparingly. Just enough for him to accomplish his objective of realigning the herd with the highest evolutionary outcomes.
As threats of societal regression, disgruntlement and extinction linger, more creative Übermensch chasers would resort to more apolitical means for accomplishing their mission. After all, the herculean task of aligning humanity to the evolutionary continuum is not solely about acting on what works, but on what emotionally fulfills mankind.
(All movie stills featured above are credited to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.)
References:
Nietzsche, F. (2018). Ecce homo. Arcturus Publishing.
Nietzsche, F. (1974). Thus spoke Zarathustra. Penguin UK.
Nietzsche, F. W. (1968). Twilight of the idols: And, the Anti-Christ. Penguin Classics.
Evola, J. (2018). Ride the tiger: A survival manual for the aristocrats of the soul. Simon & Schuster.
Frankl, V. E. (1992). Man’s search for meaning: An introduction to logotherapy. Beacon Press (MA).
Greene, R. (2018). The laws of human nature. Penguin.
Mishra, P. (2017). Age of anger: a history of the present. Penguin Books.
Pascal, B., & Ariew, R. (2005). Pensées. Hackett Publishing.
Walzer, M. (2019). Political action: a practical guide to movement politics. New York Review Books, New York.