| ID | 193701 |
| Title Proper | Nietzsche’s Critique of Power |
| Other Title Information | Mimicry and the Advantage of the Weak |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | MEREDITH, THOMAS |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | While most scholars understand Nietzsche as a full-throated proponent of power, I argue that his attitude toward power is far more ambivalent. Nietzsche’s critical attitude toward power is most apparent in his analysis of mimicry—the process whereby one organism (the mimic) gains an evolutionary advantage through superficially resembling another (the model). Nietzsche’s analysis of mimicry shows how power makes the strong not only indifferent but also actively hostile to adaptation and novelty. In contrast, the weak, precisely because of their weakness, are incentivized to understand, adapt to, and exploit the psychology of the strong. Nietzsche reveals that mimicry is the means by which the weak were able to achieve a revolution in values through persuasion rather than force. Ultimately, I argue that Nietzsche’s analysis of mimicry provides a compelling account of social change, and reveals how power is maladaptive, in that it blinds and ossifies the powerful. |
| `In' analytical Note | American Political Science Review Vol. 118, No.1; Feb 2024: p.291 - 303 |
| Journal Source | American Political Science Review Vol: 118 No 1 |