Nietzsche’s Nihilism and the Rise of Ethnic Nationalism

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The name of Nietzsche is associated with the rise of fascism. It is not a coincidence as some of the philosopher’s ideas appeared to provide a rational explanation of this movement. However, he is not directly connected to it and his studies were primarily based on the change in society due to the decreasing influence of Christianity on European people (Elbe, 2000). Nietzsche’s search for a new purpose in human life resulted in the widespread dissemination of his ideas and their consequent adoption by fascists. This essay is going to explain the impact of Nietzsche’s nihilism on the rise of ethnic nationalism.

Nihilism, as one of the main themes of Nietzsche’s philosophy, reflected the concerns of the author about the future of society in turbulent times. This term appeared in his work The Gay Science, published at the end of the nineteenth century (Drolet, 2020). It was connected to the attempts of the philosopher to find a way out of the political and cultural crisis in Europe. Even though Nietzsche became known as one of the fascist followers, he was worried about the emergence of transnational terrorism, which received support from the followers of anarcho-socialist movements in Europe (Drolet, 2020). The principal problem in their ideas was the apparent justification of their actions by ambiguous humanist ideals.

The beginning of ethnic nationalism was conditional upon the rapid development of nihilism that started with the necessity to substitute God and moral values corresponding to this belief with other values. Nietzsche expressed his views by proclaiming “God is dead,” and this phrase indicated a new period in history characterised by the need for a rational rather than divine explanation of human nature (Chamberlain, 2012). Such an explanation was possible only in the case of strengthening a national consciousness and fascists were eager to offer it.

The concept of nihilism was used by fascists to manipulate the minds of citizens and thereby instil their ideals. Thus, ethnic nationalism received support due to the need of people to explain the nature of everything with the help of rationality (Chamberlain, 2012. The concept of the world’s divine nature did not satisfy them anymore, and they were eager to follow the new leaders who promised to give the meaning to their lives that was lost with the decline of the church.

The philosophical thoughts of Nietzsche greatly contributed to the support of the ethnic nationalist movement by providing the scientific basis for the crisis in Europe. In his works, he described the changing world in the way he perceived it and eventually concluded on the inevitability of societal changes. According to the philosopher, the future of Germany as well as other European countries solely depended on the way such changes would be performed. In addition to those circumstances, Nietzsche highlighted the devaluation of the highest values deriving from Protestantism on the way towards progress as the principal reason for the ongoing societal processes (Elbe, 2000). Therefore, the shifts that resulted in the political and cultural crisis in Europe, in his view, were conditional upon the search for new values.

The collapse of Christian morality and the corresponding worldview required a new interpretation of human existence and turned the cultural crisis into a moral one. According to the philosopher’s opinion, society could not exist without a greater sense of meaning or purpose and if religion is incapable of providing it, some other powers should intervene (Elbe, 2000). Therefore, using this conception, the followers of ethnic nationalism managed to underpin their ideology with the societal need for a guiding power.

Nietzsche anticipated such an outcome of the adoption of nihilistic views by fascist activists, and this fact also contributed to the seeming normalcy of these processes. In his works, he raised a concern that the attempts to overcome the experience deriving from the reduced impact of the Christian church in terms of morals and values might have severe consequences (Elbe, 2000). Among them, he listed the scenarios of the implementation of questionable measures, which might lead to pure violence. Nietzsche wrote that the low morale resulting from the breakdown of value systems could even become a reason for a great war in search for temporary redemption (Elbe, 2000). Therefore, the consequences of these societal changes were not surprising to the philosopher.

The creation of the power capable to lead people was conditional upon citizens’ loyalty, which previously belonged to the Christian church as they believed in God. Therefore, fascist activists’ task was to substitute religious devotion with loyalty to a nation, so it became possible to manipulate them based on common ideals (Carr, 1945). As the notion of a nation is more tangible than mysterious almighty God, their intentions also corresponded to the need for rational proof expressed by nihilists (Chamberlain, 2012). This circumstance became another factor that allowed for the choice of Nietzsche as a principal philosopher, whose ideas were meant to underpin ethnic nationalism.

Another idea of Nietzsche that contributed to the rise of ethnic nationalism was his desire to find an explanation for the European crisis in genealogy. Thus, he tried to trace the emergence and development of the problem through the difference in people’s origins (Elbe, 2000). The notion of superiority and inferiority of particular groups of people derives directly from Nietzsche’s philosophical thoughts. Its meaning was distorted by fascist activists as the original idea that belonged to the philosopher, which described the prevalence of moral and intellectual characteristics and not ethnic or national superiority. As a result, the people in Germany were divided into strong and weak groups and the notion of a master race appeared (Drolet, 2020). In this way, the idea of moral values was perceived as the need for governance.

Nietzsche’s thoughts contributed to the development of the relationship between nihilism and ethnic nationalism. His works, in which he expressed the necessity to substitute the values of the Christian church with powers corresponding to the spirit of the age, were used by fascists. The situation in Germany was unstable due to the political and cultural crisis and fascist activists skewed Nietzsche’s ideas for their benefit. Such a new power represented by people with nationalistic views was formed and the loyalty to the church changed into the loyalty to the nation. In this way, Nietzsche’s nihilism and ethnic nationalism are interconnected.

Reference List

Carr, E.H. (1945) Nationalism and after. London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd.

Chamberlain, L. (2012) ‘The political message of Nietzsche’s ‘God is dead’’, The Guardian.

Drolet, J-F. (2020) Beyond tragedy and perpetual peace: Politics and international relations in the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.

Elbe, S. (2000) ‘European nihilism and annihilation in the twentieth century’, Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions, 1(3), pp. 43–72.

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Nietzsche’s Nihilism and the Rise of Ethnic Nationalism

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