Nietzsche and the Critique of Revolution

by Antonio Fontana

Revisiting over fifty years of post-structuralist, post-modernist, and Existentialist readings of Nietzsche, this study offers an incisive, scholarly deconstruction and critique of apolitical and individualist readings and interpretations of Nietzsches philosophical corpus. Specifically, it views the German thinker as partaking of a larger intellectual the 19th century Western European reactionary, conservative, and counter-revolutionary tradition. The work combines genealogical and historical investigation with analysis of Nietzsches life-long philosophical and ideological struggle against the forces of modernity, as embodied by feminism, socialism, nationalism, and democratic liberalism, beginning with his implicit critique of the Paris Commune in his first work, The Birth of Tragedy, all the way to his scathing critiques of progress and socialism in his last works, and his incipient formulation of a new, anti-revolutionary politics. A synthesis and development of the few scholars of the past decade who have also seen Nietzsche as a conservative and deeply political thinker, is also provided here, whilst the book simultaneously argues for the revolutionary and anti-Eurocentric implications of the German thinkers critique of historicism and of inevitable historical progress. It is an excellent resource for both scholars and lay readers alike who want to learn something new about Nietzsche, and who are also critical of the apolitical conception of the great thinker that has prevailed in academia since the Second World War.

Genres: Philosophy

115 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2019

Reviews

[Catholicus Magus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet, this book corrects the conceptual, linguistic, and philosophical deficiencies of the most commonly used interpretations of leftist authors regarding Nietzsche. Taking aim at D&G, the 19th century anarchists, and Kaufmann's attempt to render Nietzsche "apolitical" and thus palatable to the post-war audience, Fontana's book emphasizes the unique and canonical nature of his writings. For instance, a much needed correction (even for soi-disant "rightist Nietzscheans,") is that Nietzsche despised statism precisely because its bureaucratic, anonymous nature allowed for the removal of any sort of aristocratic self-assertion vis-à-vis the will to power. Thus, the 20th century regimes would only have managed to get the same sort of conditional support as the Papacy contra Luther, or Spinoza contra Hegel. Likewise, this book does an excellent job of correcting the deficiencies concerning the commonly held interpretations of de Tocqueville or Burke. Although this book does little to expound upon Nietzsche's ideas, and only touches the political implication of his later works, it is a very welcomed resource to draw upon for inspiration when reading the sundry Nietzschean commentaries.