Nietzschean anarchism and the possibility of political culture*

Abstract

This essay offers an unconventional reading of Nietzsche's political significance by proposing an anti‐authoritarian rendering of his normative model of social reconstruction. My investigation highlights those political theories that capture Nietzsche's attention to demonstrate how his work contains an affirmative political imaginary that is not antagonistic to the cultural priorities he wants to preserve. 1 begin with a brief discussion of the primary themes that shape the parameters of Nietzsche's social writings. Next I consider the anti‐political character of his work through his rejection of statism. The third section examines the possibility of Nietzschean political culture in terms of the anti‐authoritarian principles at work in his writings. The final section explores his vision of the conditions surrounding social change and enhancement, focusing on the actors and organizational resources that subtend his endorsement of a voluntaristic, meritocratic social model. In contrast to those who privilege the critical features of Nietzsche's social ontology, I argue that his political and anti‐political thought sketch the contours of an affirmative political culture predicated upon an agonistic theory of equality and mutual enhancement.