Ben Lin

The Strong who leave behind Morals Frederick Nietzsche, a German philosopher, brings forth the idea that the concept of morals is just an attempt by the people who have little power to limit the ones who has more or has all the power. Essentially he is referring to the idea that weaker part of society uses the idea of morals in order to prevent the ones who are powerful from doing anything they please and taking everything they desire. “Morality is an invention of the weak to limit the strong” What exactly discerns the difference between the ones who are strong and the ones who are weak? The strength of a person in this case is not how much weight a person can bench. The power in this case of is the power of connections, positions, wealth, and the fact that others have put the strong on a pedestal in the first place. The strong do not become strong simply because better. One needs to have the resolve to act, and take from others. Only the weak seem to experience loss, so the strong takes from others, even if it is to not gain more but lose less Adolf Hitler in the past had gained an influential position in Germany, and he rose to that position because everyone else decided to follow him. He has all his power and influence because he had left behind the morals that hold back power. He did terrible things to the Jewish and yet no one thought that he was wrong because they had also left behind part of their morality. He convinced them that the reason Germany lost the war because of the existence of the Jews. They believed him; as the country that had lost so much in the first world war they could not bear to lose anything else. Through the regret of feeling powerless they followed the man who could leave behind the morals that should have bound his actions. With his power, he made Germans feel invincible and superior to the rest. That’s why the Jews had to go, the people thought. Even Joseph Stalin, the man of steel realized what he could achieve if he was willing to take advantage of others and quell resistance. Stalin had everyone obey him, and resistance would be met with death. It was an immoral thing to do, yes, but at the same time it was effective in getting what he wanted done. The people feared and revered him, as he was fighting for their cause but took many inhumane means to get there. What is the meaning of limit? Exactly what is this limit that holds back the ones who are more powerful? The morals that tie down the strong seem to work very well, as most people do have a sense of morality that prevents them from abusing others with their power. As human beings it is only natural to want to be powerful; it is human nature to want to be dominant over someone else and control them. So does this mean that a human's morals do not come from being human? The morals that one follows are not ideas that we are born with. As young children we only think about ourselves and desire for things without thinking about the welfare of others around us. Due to our innocence we do not understand what it means to have morals, and instead we were taught at a young age what morality is and to follow these morals to the dot. Some people as they grow out of childhood, and begin to make their own decisions about how to treat other people, start to change their own idea of morality, and may choose not to follow them at all. They can only think to take for themselves and aim to be more successful or powerful than the rest. Yet so many people still cherish the morals that were taught to them because they think it is right, even though they still desire to be "strong" and set themselves from other people. Because the concept of morals is so strongly ingrained into society, the people are eager to follow them. That is what the real limit is. The people stay faithful to these ideals because it is accepted as the right thing to do. To go against it means to go against society. No one likes to be ostracized from their world of people and this fear of being shunned is what really sets the limit on what is acceptable and what is not. Even Hitler and Stalin would not be able to face being excommunicated. Hitler had to convince everyone that the Jews were at fault, and with their support he could them carry out his plans. Stalin needed the people to revere him and see him as a god. He named a city after himself, and decreed that schools were to pledge every day to Comrade Stalin and his efforts. The powerful could not be powerful while abiding by the limitations of being kind and giving, they thrived off others, specifically taking from others and being able to control them. Nietzche had realized this, and that morality is what keeps the balance between the weak and the strong.