Friday, August 31, 2018

Will to Power, Capitalism, Marxism

While Smith's concept of the ultimate goal of an Economy vacillates between Wealth and Health, i. e. the fulfillment of vital Need, Marx unequivocally promotes the latter.  But, there is no disagreement between them regarding the concept of Need--sustenance, shelter, medicine, etc.  So, Will to Power poses a radical challenge to both of them, by positing that the fundamental Need is to discharge strength, which can be interpreted as Creativity.  Now, this doctrine may be radical, but it is not eccentric.  For, the traditional Will to Live can be conceived as a special case of the Will to Create--as the Will to Re-create--which explains both personal quotidian survival, and species propagation.  The principle is also not lacking in concrete examples--notably the behavior of the Artist, which Nietzsche takes as paradigmatic, rather than that of the barterer or of the factory drudge.  So, the Will to Power does not eliminate the value of Health, rather it subordinates food, shelter, etc. to creative activity as their ultimate goal.  But, it does present a critique to both Capitalism and Marx: regarding the former, it distinguishes idle Wealth from Wealth that is conducive to Creativity, and regarding the latter, it distinguishes mechanical toil from artisanry and craft. More generally, Will to Power does not eliminate Economics, but it re-orders what have usually been taken to be the priorities of an Economic system.

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