Zarathustra on the State

A reading from Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche.

This reading should particularly speak to the liberty minded.

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Tags:

• Friedrich
• Nietzsche
• Thus
• Spoke
• Zarathustra
• the
• state
• poetry
• religion
• libertarian
• libertarianism
• anarchism

[Slug99]

Why couldn't you've just edited out the "-th" at the end of verbs and replace it with "-s"? I mean the meaning doesn't change but it sounds a bit more pleasant to the ear of a modern listener.

Still it's a very nice upload, always nice to find nietzsche on YouTube. Perhaps you should do the dragon with the golden scales next, that's my personal favorite.

[XOmniverse]

I like that section too.

I was just reading the translation I had. I like the "eth" sounds; I think it makes it sound almost like a religious sermon that is anti-religion and pro-ego.

[fede2]

that's strange. i was certain that nietzsche hated anarchists. it was my understanding that he himself was sort of a reaccionary.

[XOmniverse]

It's possible that he did. Evidently here he was expressing some relatively anarchistic sentiments though.

[robshred66]

I think when he's talking about the state, he's talking about democracy, sharing Cooper's sentiments: "Democracy is, in all things, toward mediocrity." Nietzsche, as TheAntiNICE brought up, did favor tradition and customs, particularly of the ancients, the Greeks, essentially the undemocratic State of "Master and Slave," of the dominant and the lethargic, where great minds could advance great ideas of art and science without being caught up in religious and political quagmires.

[swfan375]

If you don't mind my asking, which translation is this from? As i have just started reading the translation of Thomas Common

[woodsofodin]

(cont...) Having said all this, even the concepts of sovereignty and property are only concepts, so societies would have to find which concepts of property and sovereignty work best for them.

So I admit that I have no concrete hard and fast alternative to a state, but I think I have better basic blueprints than states have offered.

[woodsofodin]

How is a group monopolizing violence and enforcing rules under threat of violence not primitive and extreme?

I suggest several alternatives working in tandom, personal sovereignty, sovereingty of competing businesses, community sovereignty, familial sovereignty (as in over a piece of land not as in inheriting rulership of a state) and probably many others.

(cont...)

[phospholipasec]

You r taking the state to be something extreme and primitive as opposed to principled and idealistic. What is your alternative to national sovereignty?

[silverspirit2001]

No, someone who has met Zoroastrians and discussed their beliefs.

[DaniOcean]

You crazy or something?

[silverspirit2001]

Zoroaster never said anything like this. He talked about truth and the power of good works for salvation. This is Nietzsche putting words into a mouth of someone identified with ancient (lost) wisdom.

[TheAntiNICE]

Nietzsche isn't particular hard to grasp, especially if you are only looking to achieve a basic non-academic understanding of his work.

[woodsofodin]

Thee state is not representative of its people but an artificial concept imposed upon peoples. People give away power and resources to the state in order to gain power and wealth. For those who've given up religons, the state often becomes the new object of worthip w/ all the sacrifices entailed there in.

See now, this part of the book I grasp. :)

[redbaron998]

Hmm an intrigiuing sorce, I think I will look more into him.