There is only one way to
‘moralize’ Scrooge’s redemption, the glorious uplifting triumph of the
Christmas spirit of sharing and giving, even better when that spirit extends
throughout the year. “This is good, this is very-very good!” we say, and
perhaps we should stop right there, because unless we intend to write another Christmas
Carol to rival the Dickens masterpiece, talking about this subject for too
long is too predictable and, frankly, not terribly interesting.
By the same token, people helping
other people, joining mutual aid societies, or simply joining together to seek
political and economic safety in numbers is also a commendable
undertaking. Only a heartless brute can disparage something like that, and once
again, there is only one way to moralize this will to mutual aid and general
helpfulness: “Good, very-very good!” we say, and once again talking
for too long about such a predictable subject is commendable, but not terribly
interesting.
Nietzsche can be called a lot of
things, but he is not a ‘heartless brute,’ and he is always breathtakingly and
exhilaratingly interesting. Therefore, reading his analysis of the will to
mutual helpfulness, in Genealogie-3-18, is a particular challenge
which, once we understand what he is doing, leads us straight to the core of
his unique concept of Jenseits von Gut und Böse, like nothing else does
better. Let us have it then--- in excerpts--- right away:
“…When
one looks for the beginnings of Christianity in the Roman world, one finds
associations for mutual aid, for the poor, for the sick, for burials, evolved
among the lowest strata of society, in which this major remedy for depression,
petty pleasure produced by mutual helpfulness, was consciously employed.
The will to mutual aid, to the formation of a herd, to community, to
congregation, called up in this fashion, is bound to lead to fresh and far more
fundamental outbursts of that will to power which it has even if only to a
small extent, aroused--- the formation of a herd is a major victory and advance
in the struggle against depression. With the growth of the community, a new
interest grows for the individual too, often lifting him above the most
personal element in his discontent: his aversion to himself. Instinctively, all
the sick and the sickly strive after a herd organization, as a means of shaking
off their dull displeasure and a feeling of weakness: the ascetic priest
divines this instinct and furthers it; wherever there are herds, it is the
instinct of weakness that has willed the herd, and the prudence of the priest
that has organized it. For, one should not overlook this fact: the strong are
as naturally inclined to separate as the weak are to congregate; if the former
unite together, it is only with the aim of an aggressive collective action and
collective satisfaction of their will to power, and with much resistance from
the individual conscience; the latter, on the contrary, enjoy precisely this
coming together, their instinct is as much satisfied by this as the instinct of
the born masters (that is, the solitary, “beast-of-prey” species of man) is
fundamentally irritated and disquieted by organization. History teaches us that
every oligarchy conceals the lust for tyranny; every oligarchy constantly
trembles with the tension each member feels, in controlling this lust…” (Genealogie,
3rd Essay, #18.)
And so here’s my point. It is
quite clear to me that in this passage (like in innumerable other passages)
there is no moralizing, no valuation of the subject as either good or bad.
Just as he has promised us elsewhere, he Nietzsche is talking “extra-morally,
jenseits von Gut und Böse,” and this is exactly what it is. Now with this
in mind, let us proceed with some of our specific comments.
To be continued…
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