Nietzschean Reflections on Liberty
by Barry Stocker
Nietzsche, though not possessing a consistently liberal set of political principles and though he did not write a treatise on political theory, had many things to say of interest to those concerned with individual liberty. He did write at length about morality, which is the declared central theme of three books: Daybreak, Beyond Good and Evil, On the Genealogy of Morality. Where there is moral philosophy, there is always at the very least some implicit grounds for political philosophy, since political philosophy is typically conceived as morally grounded. In Nietzsche’s case where the grounds might be characterised as immoralism, but it is still a form of ethical theory. Apart from this, there are also many aphorisms, passages and sections of his work which are concerned with political thought. They are frequently of value from a liberty oriented point of view or at least provoke thought around ideas of liberty. The most constant element of this is a general concern with the nature and value of strong forms of individuality, a liberal interest.
Read the rest. This is also from the Spring 2025 issue (3.1).
Dr Stocker was one of the first scholars to jump on board my idea for a group blog. He was one of the first Notewriters. For that I will always be grateful.