Nietzsche's Great Politics

Hugo Drochon is a historian of nineteenth- and twentieth-century political thought and a postdoctoral research fellow at CRASSH, the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities, at the University of Cambridge.

• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix EDITIONS AND TRANSLATIONS USED xiii ABBREVIATIONS xv INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1. THE GREEKS 24 SOCRATES AND GREEK CULTURE 26 PLATO'S LEGISLATIVE MISSION 36 CONCLUSION 47 CHAPTER 2. THE STATE 49 WAGNER AND SLAVERY 52 "THE GREEK STATE" 55 THE DECAY OF THE MODERN STATE 60 BEYOND THE MODERN STATE 64 CONCLUSION 67 CHAPTER 3. DEMOCRACY 71 DEMOCRACY IN THE KAISERREICH 75 DEMOCRACY AND ARISTOCRACY 78 MISARCHISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND HERD MORALITY 80 DEGENERATION AND THE GOOD EUROPEAN 82 CASTE SOCIETY 88 SLAVERY 91 CONCLUSION 97 CHAPTER 4. PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICS 105 THE WILL TO POWER 106 THE ETERNAL RETURN 110 THE OVERMAN 115 CONCLUSION: POLITICAL PERFECTIONISM 126 CHAPTER 5. REVALUATION 129 NIETZSCHE'S NACHLASS AND HIS LAST WORKS 135 THE PASSAGE A L'ACTE 144 CONCLUSION 151 CHAPTER 6. GREAT POLITICS 153 PETTY POLITICS 156 GREAT POLITICS 160 RELEARNING POLITICS 165 THE WAR OF SPIRITS 170 CONCLUSION 176 CONCLUSION: NIETZSCHE NOW 180 BIBLIOGRAPHY 185 INDEX 197

"The task that Hugo Drochon sets himself is to reinsert some political content into Nietzsche and show that he had a systematic political theory. The result is a superb case of deep intellectual renewal and the most important book to have been written about him in the past few years."--Gavin Jacobson, New Statesman "This book is not so much a reclamation of his [Nietzsche's] thinking on the subject as a reconstruction of the development of political thinking in the philosopher's works, so often missed by those who require thinking and expression less profound to make sense of such. Coherent, detailed and balanced."--Daniel Binney, Times Higher Education "The book achieves its stated goal with aplomb as it follows the development of political ideas in Nietzsche's works, and it deserves to become a standard reference text for advanced students and Nietzsche scholars."--Mina Mitreva, Past Imperfect "In this compelling and accessible study, Drochon--a historian of 19th- and 20th-century political thought--argues the affirmative case, contending that Nietzsche articulated a 'great politics' centered on the unification of Continental Europe under the aegis of a cultivated, interbred class of superior individuals who would ultimately lead a geopolitical struggle against Great Britain and Russia for world supremacy... One can find lots of books on Nietzsche, but this one stands out for its clarity and excellence."--Choice "[Nietzsche's Great Politics] is among the most illuminating studies that have been written on the topic of Nietzsche's political thought... Those who confidently maintain that Nietzsche has no 'politics' will be forced, if not to abandon their view completely, then seriously to reconsider it."--Andrew Huddleston, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews "A thought-provoking contribution to the debate over Nietzsche's politics... [It] contains plenty to interest the contemporary Nietzsche scholar, providing insight into Nietzsche's political statements and offering a tantalising glimpse into his preparations for a great role in the politics of his age."--Simon Townsend, Contemporary Political Theory