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On Mass Culture and Civilizational Mediocrity
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Rosner, David J. |
| Copyright Year | 2011 |
| Abstract | A number of prominent 19th and 20th century German thinkers held very negative views towards Anglo-American culture, more specifically its mercantile capitalism, its liberal democracy and (and what they perceived to be) its mass culture of mediocrity. This paper will examine these negative views in the following sequence: Nietzsche's criticisms of Democracy, Heidegger's conflation of American culture and Soviet Communism as "metaphysically both the same," Adorno' s critique of the "culture industry" especially in America1, and finally, Spengler' s condemnation of capitalism as hastening the Decline of the West. There are some valid and interesting arguments in all these critiques, and I will also try to illustrate their relevance for today's post-modern age. However, I will also identify and analyze key points where I believe they are fundamentally mistaken. Nietzsche's Critique of Democracy as Mediocrity Nietzsche's critique of Mill's Utilitarianism provides an entry into his critique of Democracy in general. According to Utilitarian theory as put forth by thinkers such as Mill and Bentham, the definition of morality is "that which promotes the greatest good for the greatest number of people." This criterion of morality sounds eminently reasonable to those raised in a liberal democracy, yet Nietzsche found it deeply problematic, because according to him, all men are not created equal, and therefore should not count equally in tiie moral calculus. Some individuals are nobler than others, some more intelligent, some stronger - some are simply worth more than others. Democratic institutions, which so proudly count equality, fairness and egalitarianism as ideals, thus perpetuate mediocrity and "penalize the excellent" (Baradat, 239). Heidegger clearly would later agree with Nietzsche's elitism here, arguing that "the essential always comes and returns to human beings, thereby forcing them to superiority and allowing them to act on the basis of rank" (IM, 35, Kisiel, 229). Heidegger argued further how the presuppositions of both Anglo-American liberal democracy and Soviet communism have played a major role in "this onslaught ofthat which destroys all rank and all that is spiritual about the world," leading to "the preeminence of the mediocre." (IM 34, Kisiel, 229). For Nietzsche, strong and proud men who rise above the herd, and rise above "mortal standards of right and wrong" are Germany's only future, not the mediocrity exemplified by a moribund German bourgeoisie. Nietzsche argued that the most serious culprit behind Europe's malaise was actually Christianity, which replaced the ancient Homeric values of heroism, honor and strength with an oppressive and unnatural slave morality of weakness, repression and humility. Christianity, as it originally grew as a Jewish sect under brutal Roman rule, was based on the "ressentiment" the weak felt towards those in power, and thus in Christianity, mankind's true values have now therefore been reversed - humility and meekness are now considered virtues, while strength and pride are now derided. This value shift resulted in the perversion of the true human essence and essentially sapped the strength of the German nation, thereby transforming a once proud warrior people into a tired and mediocre nation of repressed, bourgeois shopkeepers and bureaucrats. Yet, the institution of Democracy, with its egalitarian ideals, e.g., "all men are created equal," also came in for severe criticism. Nietzsche offered one of the more piercing analyses of the marked sense of the spiritual exhaustion, decadence and taedium vitae in 19th century German culture. This malaise partially explains the naive enthusiasm all across Europe for the Great War, which was viewed by so many young men as a cathartic opportunity for spiritual rebirth and renewal. The "savage contest" of war, the primordial opposition of life and death, the nobility of struggle, and glory on the battlefield all beckoned as an escape from the stifling conformity and repression of conventional Victorian bourgeois life. … |
| Starting Page | 6 |
| Ending Page | 6 |
| Page Count | 1 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1831&context=ccr&httpsredir=1&referer= |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1831&context=ccr |
| Volume Number | 65 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
