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Why the state is the “coldest of all cold monsters”: an anarchist perspective of Nietzsche’s critique of government by chhaylin

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philosophy · @chhaylin · (edited)
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Why the state is the “coldest of all cold monsters”: an anarchist perspective of Nietzsche’s critique of government
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<h3><strong>As a libertarian anarchist and student of philosophy, I find it interesting to read through the history of thought and to find philosophical passages that are leaning towards libertarian anarchism. This time, I will discuss Friedrich Nietzsche's critique of government that will muse many libertarians and anarchists.</strong></h3>
<p><img src="https://i.imgsafe.org/20ddae1938.png" width="500" height="379"/></p>
<p>In a passage, entitled “The New Idol” in <em>Thus Spoke Zarathustra</em>, Nietzsche introduces the state as “the death of peoples”.</p>
<p>He continues by saying:</p>
<blockquote>“State is the name of the coldest of all cold monsters. Coldly it lies; and this lie slips from its mouth: “I, the state, am the people.” &nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote>
<p>What follows will be my analysis what I think are the most important points in the passage. I will dissect this passage into three separate critiques of the state.</p>
<p><strong>1. The state lies when it says: “I, the state, am the people!”<br>
</strong>Statists have often propounded “we are the government”, or “we are the state”, or “the voter is always right”. This is however, nothing but an illusion – a metaphor that has been repeated so many times that we have forgotten that they are illusions and no truths. As long as the small man is suffering from this illusion, he falsely believes that he can change the political process. It is this sense of self-empowerment that gives us the delusion that we possess a certain political power.</p>
<p>If “we are the government”, what are its logical implications? If everyone is the government, then is our government’s foreign policy not <em>our</em> foreign policy? If the Dutch government attacks Libya, then it should be <em>us</em> that attacks Libya. If German politicians, due to political disputes decide to attack the Netherlands, then according to this statist logic it should be <em>us</em> that are attacked by <em>them</em>, the Germans. German Jews are not murdered by their Nazi government, but ‘committed suicide’. If our governments hold us in prison, it is us who imprison ourselves. If our governments decide to put sanctions on Iraq which lead to hundreds of thousands of starving children, it is <em>us</em> who do this to the Iraqi children.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM0uvgHKZe8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM0uvgHKZe8</a></p>
<p>This logic is absurd. We are not the government or the state. It is not <em>us</em> who starved the Iraqi children to death. It is not <em>us</em> who attacked Libya. It is the political elite who did this.</p>
<p><strong>2. Whatever the state gives you, it has stolen from other people.<br>
</strong>Nietzsche continues the passage by saying that the state is created by destroyers</p>
<blockquote>“who lay snares for the many, and call it state: they hang a sword and a hundred cravings over them… the state lies in all the tongues of good and evil; and whatever it says it lies; and whatever it has it has stolen."</blockquote>
<p>According to Nietzsche, the state artificially creates cravings and determines what is good and evil. Moralities would naturally erupt among the people, but the state poisons this natural process and makes those who don’t obey its laws turn into enemies of the people.</p>
<p>The essential point, I want to focus on here is the claim that whatever the state possesses has been stolen. This phrase puts the state as a group of bandits who dominates and exploits its people. This view is in line with what Franz Oppenheimer calls, “the political means”. According to Oppenheimer, there are two means through which one can acquire wealth. The first means, “the economic means”, is by producing goods and services and through voluntary exchanges. The state does not produce anything, but acquires its wealth through organized theft and taxation of the productive classes. This is “the political means”.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgsafe.org/210a64d4b2.jpg" width="704" height="258"/></p>
<p><strong>3. The state is a false idol that preaches death, seeks power and drowns in corruption.</strong></p>
<p>Nietzsche writes that &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote>“It [the state] will give everything to you, if you worship it, the new idol: thus it buys the lustre of your virtue, and the glance of your proud eyes. Through you it seeks to seduce the all-too-many! Yes, a hellish artifice has been created here, a death-horse jingling with the trappings of divine honors! Yes, a dying for many has been created here, which glorifies itself as life: verily, a great service to all preachers of death!”&nbsp;</blockquote>
<p>The state understands that people are corruptible and willing to give up their values and virtues in exchange for power. In addition, the state creates idols and honors that are not honorable at all. It even elevates the dying for the state as an honorable activity and calls those who are willing to give up their lives for the state ‘heroes’. In this sense, states are preachers of death!</p>
<p>They are corrupt and we should &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote>“[E]scape from their foul stench! Escape from the idolatry of the superfluous!<br>
Escape from their foul stench! Escape from the steam of these human sacrifices!<br>
The earth is yet free for great souls.”</blockquote>
<p><br></p>
<p><strong>Reference</strong><br>
Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883-1885)<br>
</p>
<h3>***If you enjoy this article, don't forget to follow me. You may also enjoy these other articles of mine:</h3>
<p>- <a href="https://steemit.com/philosophy/@chhaylin/the-value-of-being-intellectually-modest-in-public-policy-taking-account-of-our-ignorance">The value of being Intellectually Modest in public policy: taking account of our ignorance</a><br>
- <a href="https://steemit.com/philosophy/@chhaylin/the-lost-purpose-of-schooling-learning-to-dance-with-ideas-with-words-and-with-the-pen">The lost purpose of schooling: learning to dance with ideas, with words, and with the pen</a><br>
- <a href="https://steemit.com/overman/@chhaylin/how-the-spirit-becomes-the-uebermensch-a-motivational-metaphor-of-human-power-and-capabilities">How the spirit becomes the Übermensch: a motivational metaphor of human power and capabilities</a><br>
- <a href="https://steemit.com/philosophy/@chhaylin/the-value-of-studying-philosophy">The value of studying Philosophy</a><br>
- <a href="https://steemit.com/philosophy/@chhaylin/bruce-lee-s-philosophy-is-fundamentally-taoist-and-libertarian-in-nature-part-1">Bruce Lee’s philosophy is fundamentally Taoist and Libertarian in nature</a></p>
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@anarcho-andrei ·
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Fantastic!  Very excellent analysis, and it was a pleasure to read as well.
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@chhaylin ·
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Thank you for your kind words, @anarcho-andrei :). They are very encouraging.
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@mikeonfire · 
Just found this today. Thank you so much for writing it. I appreciate the thoughts!
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@nicku ·
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Excellent article. I can see you put so much effort into writing this. Thanks for the read.
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@chhaylin ·
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Thank you. I did indeed put much effort into writing this and hope that it is easily digestible, though substantial. ;)
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@pompe72 · 
This article has a Fried rich-Koolaid grade level of "We the people" with a governing tease of 1984.  This puts the buracracy level on a par 666 with CCCP and The Empire Strikes Back.
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@chhaylin · 
Haha :D
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@pompe72 · 
https://img1.steemit.com/0x0/http://i64.tinypic.com/1zn8p6d.jpg
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@profitgenerator ·
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I still cannot grasp how people can be so stupid to submit to this. People get 50% of their income stolen, and nobody cares?
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@chhaylin ·
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I still cannot grasp this as well. I would think any logical thinking person would resist this grand-scale theft.
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@profitgenerator · (edited)
Well the school system has a lot to do with it, and the kind people at the tax office. Whenever I go pay my taxes I always see there kind 25-30 year old women at the till.

If a 25 year old kind woman takes my money, that doesnt feel like I am robbed does it?

The government surely knows what people to hire at the tax office to make the theft feel less bad (at least for men).
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@stephmckenzie ·
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An enlightening and interesting read. I've got a Master's degree in Political Science, and this post reminded me a lot of the discussions we would have in our political philosophy classes in grad school. I enjoyed those classes, and I enjoyed your post.
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@chhaylin ·
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Thank you for your comment, @stephmckenzie. I followed several Political Theory/Philosophy classes during my MA in Philosophy. I've enjoyed those classes as well. :)
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