The Equivocal Use of Power in Nietzsche’s Failed Anti-Egalitarianism

Abstract

This paper argues that Nietzsche's anti-egalitarianism depends on equivocation between conceptions of power as quantitative superiority and qualitative feeling (das Machtgefiihl) and between associated conceptions of equality as similarity (die Ahnlichkeit) and opposition or resistance (der Widerstand). Nietzsche's key argu ments against equality fail when applied to the qualitative form of power, since the feeling of power does not directly correlate with quantitative ability and requires rela tively equal or proportional resistance. Consequently, Nietzsche's commitment to the promotion of humanity's highest individuals does not entail the rejection of moral egalitarianism in every form and even supports a pluralistic egalitarianism that pro motes equality understood not as similarity but as multiple, proportional resistances (die Veilheit, die Widerstande). K eywords Egalitarianism -Equality -Morality -Power -Political Theory -ResistanceDonovan Miyasaki is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He specializes in 19th and 20th century European philosophy and value theory, with a focus on Nietzsche, Heidegger, and critical theory. His current research focuses on the politi cal implications of Nietzsche's critiques of free will and moral agency. A bstract© KONINKLIJKE BRILL NV, LEIDEN, 2015 |

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