# Nietzscheanism — Tradition Nietzscheanism is the body of thought descending from [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] (1844–1900): the critique of "slave morality" and *ressentiment*, the will to power, the "death of God" and the threat of nihilism, and the *Übermensch* who creates values beyond the "herd" (*[[Beyond Good and Evil]]*, *[[Thus Spoke Zarathustra]]*). ## Why it matters on the right Nietzsche is the most contested philosophical ancestor of the **dissident right**. His assault on egalitarian and Christian morality, his celebration of hierarchy, strength, and beauty, and his contempt for democratic "leveling" are taken up — selectively and often crudely — by the "vitalist" right, most visibly [[Bronze Age Pervert]], and by currents in the [[Dark Enlightenment]] and [[Neoreaction]]. [[Martin Heidegger]] and [[Oswald Spengler]] are downstream relays, and [[Julius Evola]] offered a [[Traditionalism]] reading. ## The appropriation problem Nietzsche is a genuinely awkward fit for the right he is claimed by: he despised German nationalism, antisemitism, and mass politics, and the explicitly fascist "Nietzsche" was substantially manufactured by his sister Elisabeth's editing of *The Will to Power*. He is equally claimed by the postmodern left (via perspectivism). This makes him a revealing case of how philosophical reputations are weaponized — see the [[Philosophy in Right-Wing Thought Hub]] MOC and the [[Ethics]] branch.