Thomas_More
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The party still silent on the approaching European, and probably global, war.
The Slovak protests show how easily the young too are swayed to support Brussels’ war party.
The same WW2 propaganda rehashed (“democracy” vs totalitarianism) which rallied workers to the flag works as always.
War threatening between China and Japan over Taiwan.
Half of Taiwan supports China anyway, as half are Kuomintang voters.Just been having a debate with a leftist trying to tell me that China is “real socialism” and that state-capitalism is “real socialism” as opposed to the utopian dreaming of Marx and Engels (!)
I told him that even Lenin admitted that state-capitalism is not socialism.Well, they are not socialists and do not see capitalism itself as the problem. They would define capitalism as “private ownership” and “socialism” as state ownership. But state ownership is private ownership, because the state is the capitalist class’s executive organ.
So they are in fact spokespersons for capitalism at the highest level and reformist dupes at the lowest level who follow them.Wez: ” It is no defense to say that philosophers like journalists, artists, novelists are not responsible for at least some of the consequences of their work. “
I dispute that I am motivated by ideology.
A Maoist is motivated by ideology. A Christian is motivated by ideology.
A flat earther is, and so is a Leninist.
These are all people whose “opinions” are not opinions, but mantras, laid down for them by others so that they might unquestioningly follow.I don’t claim that Marx must bear responsibility for the actions of pseudomarxists. I’m saying that he must, if we follow your logic, not mine.
Hobbes is important in the history of materialism. Maybe he is used, and maybe he himself was one, by apologists for a ferocious human nature that cannot be changed, but, as I said in my piece, the philosopher, unlike the ideologue and the conspiraloon, does not reject a thinker in his entirety because of one or two things he may have been wrong about.
Google:
” Nazism was not a direct, intended product of Nietzsche’s philosophy; rather, the Nazis warped and selectively appropriated his complex ideas, such as the Übermensch, the will to power, and his critique of egalitarianism, to create a facade of intellectual justification for their ideology. Nietzsche was a vehement critic of antisemitism and German nationalism, and his philosophy’s emphasis on individualism and aristocratic radicalism was at odds with the mass-based, state-centric, and racially motivated ideology of Nazism. However, the Nazis, particularly through his sister’s distorted editing and their own ideological spin, were able to present Nietzsche as a prophet of their cause, a claim that is fundamentally a misrepresentation of his work.
Nazi appropriation and misrepresentation of Nietzsche
Anti-antisemitism vs. Nazi antisemitism: Nietzsche was a vocal opponent of antisemitism, even going so far as to publicly denounce it, despite the fact that his sister and some initial publishers were antisemitic. Nazi propaganda actively ignored or twisted his anti-antisemitic views and presented him as a precursor to their racist ideology.
Philosophical concepts:
The Übermensch: The Nazis co-opted Nietzsche’s concept of the “Übermensch” (Superman) and reframed it as a racial ideal for the German “master race,” a concept completely foreign to Nietzsche’s original idea, which was a more abstract goal for human self-overcoming and spiritual development.
Will to Power: This concept was reduced by the Nazis to a justification for brutal, militaristic expansionism and a primitive, a power-over-others mentality, whereas Nietzsche intended it as a more complex psychological and existential drive for growth and achievement.
Nietzsche’s anti-political stance: Nietzsche was famously anti-political and famously described himself as the “last anti-political German”. Nazi propaganda twisted this by claiming that his critique of democracy and egalitarianism was a justification for the volkish, totalitarian state, which was the opposite of what Nietzsche intended.
Nietzsche’s anti-nationalism: Nietzsche frequently criticized German nationalism and was disdainful of the German state’s focus on national power and the “herd mentality” it fostered. The Nazis, however, saw themselves as the spiritual and intellectual vanguard of a powerful, nationalistic state they claimed he was the prophet of.
Scholarly opposition and the misuse of Nietzsche’s legacy
Distorted editing: Nietzsche’s sister, Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, who was a zealous antisemite and married to an early Nazi sympathizer, edited and published his works in a way that was highly biased and supported the Nazi cause.
Contradictory interpretations: While many scholars who knew Nietzsche condemned the Nazi interpretation of his work as a distortion, the Nazi propaganda machine was so successful that it created the impression that Nietzsche was a fascist intellectual precursor.
Nazi admiration: Despite the inconsistencies, many prominent Nazis were admirers of Nietzsche. Hitler had a bust of Nietzsche in his study, and he gave a gift of Nietzsche’s collected works to Mussolini. This further cemented the association in the public mind, even though it was a misrepresentation of Nietzsche’s views. “Just following your logic, that philosophers must bear responsibility for things done in their name. If Nietzsche must take responsibility for Hitler, then Marx must for Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot.
You no doubt judge Nietzsche on a non-existent link, which is just the same. In fact, for you, it seems the non-existent link is your definition of the man, just as anti-Marxists do with Marx.In fact, most people point to Soviet and Khmer Rouge atrocities and say “Look what Marxism has caused!”
