Opposing Moralities

Neitzche questioned in his writing how it was that the German and European had become so weak and powerless. Christian morality dominated the culture. He thought that Christian morality originated from slavery, particularly the slavery of the Israelite in Egypt. Being a slave, the morality furthered survival. This was later taken up by Christianity and imparted to all the cultures of the west.

On the other hand, there was a morality of the master. If you look at the two moralities, you see that the latter is the morality of success and accomplishment and the former is the morality of victimhood and "ennobled" suffering.

The Master's Morality consisted of these values:


Pride in oneself.

A healthy sense of self-esteem.

Wealth is good, one should profit from his activities.

It is good to be ambitious and bold to seek one's highest dreams.

One should not take garbage from people and should stop that with a vengeance.

Justice is a good thing.

One should seek challenges in order to improve one's life.

Pleasure and sensuality, including sexual pleasure, is good and to be enjoyed.

It is good to be independent and take risks.

One should be an individual.

Admire oneself for what has been accomplished .

Indulge in the rewards of one's success.



The Slave's Morality consisted of these values:


One should be humble because pride goeth before the fall.

Meekness is good. The meek shall inherit the earth.

Poverty is good. Blessed are the poor.

It is good to be anti-materialist because it is more difficult for the rich man
to enter the kingdom of heaven than a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.

Self-sacrifice is good.

Passivity is good. Be patient and forgiving. Turn the other cheek. Safety and self-restraint are also good.

It is good to be self-deprecating and shamed because one should be aware of his weakness and sin.

One should be altruistic and give to charity and think of others ahead of oneself.

Dependence is good since we are all dependent on one another.

Obedience to parent, preacher and Caesar is good.

I heard this the first time in a lecture by Stephen Hicks which has been published on a DVD entitled Nietzche and the Nazis. The purpose of the lecture is to assess whether Nietzche had a big effect on the Nazis and to what extent.