Nietzsche and Herd Mentality
Friedrich Nietzsche was an unusual philosopher. He celebrated vitality, power, courage, and living dangerously. But his own life was marked by chronic illness, migraines, loneliness, poor eyesight, and eventual mental collapse. He wrote like a prophet of strength while inhabiting a body of weakness. Paradox plagued him even after his death. He had fiercely opposed conformity, nationalism, anti-Semitism, and blind obedience to any authority. Yet after his death, parts of his work were distorted and appropriated by authoritarian and fascist movements, precisely the kind of forces he despised. Today, a century and a quarter after his death, Nietzsche still remains relevant in many ways. The first would be his opposition to herd mentality and conformism. In many countries today, including India, people are increasingly becoming herds following certain larger-than-life personalities who call themselves leaders. By “herd,” Nietzsche referred to people who let collective opinio...
