Friedrich Nietzsche a Philosopher in Society Essay

Friedrich Nietzsche a Philosopher in Society - Essay Example This essay analyzes that nationalism is the belief that groups of people are bound together by territorial, cultural and (sometimes) ethnic links (Glossary, online). Capitalism is an economic system in which the production and distribution of goods depend on invested private capital and profit-making. Politically, this means the dominance of private owners of capital and production for profit. By extension, 'capitalism' has also taken in the belief that government should have nothing to do with the economy (Glossary, online). Capitalism is a form of government for a nation state, or for an organization in which all the citizens have a vote or voice in shaping policy (Democracy, online). Socialism is a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the community as a whole should own and control the means of production (Glossary, online). Conservatism is a political philosophy or attitude that emphasizes respect for traditional institutions, distrust of gover nment activism and opposition to sudden change in the established order (Glossary, online). Liberalism is a term that gained significance in the 19th century when it meant the limiting of government power and the increase of social reform (Glossary, online). ... All Too Human, Daybreak, The Gay Science, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Beyond Good and Evil, On the Genealogy of Morals, The Case of Wagner, The Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist, Ecce Homo, Nietzsche Contra Wagner, and The Will to Power (Friedrich Nietzsche a, online). Friedrich Nietzsche is famous for his rejection of Christianity (Friedrich Nietzsche b, online). He described Christianity as a nihilistic religion because it evaded the challenge of finding meaning in earthly life, creating instead a spiritual projection where mortality and suffering were removed instead of transcended. He believed nihilism resulted from the "death of God", and insisted that it was something to be overcome, by returning meaning to a monistic reality. He sought instead a "pragmatic idealism," in contrast to the prominent influence of Schopenhauer's "cosmic idealism" (Nihilism, online). He is also famous for his idea of "will to power". Hopes for a higher state of being after death are explained as compensations for failures in this life. The famous view about the "death of God" resulted from his observations of the movement from traditional beliefs to a trust of science and commerce. Nietzsche dissected Christianity and Socialism as faiths of the "little men," where excuses for weakness paraded as moral principles. John Stuart Mill's liberal democratic humanism was a target for scorn, and he called Mill "that blockhead" (Friedrich Nietzsche b, online).