Nietzsche, Agonistic Politics, and Spiritual Enmity

Abstract

This article examines the agonistic elements of Nietzsche’s thought in light of theorists who have sought to develop an agonistic democratic theory that would challenge democratic theory oriented by consensus. It argues that Nietzsche’s praise for a spiritualization of enmity provides support for a politics that embraces contest rather than seeking the elimination of conflict through either consensus or domination. Yet, unlike contemporary democratic theorists, Nietzsche’s view challenges egalitarian commitments by presenting the sources of such conflicts in noble faiths. Instead of following the practice of many scholars in identifying the agonistic with its utility for democratic politics, the paper examines Nietzsche’s view of the underlying sources of contest, including important tensions between theory and practice. The paper presents contest among noble faiths as crucial to Nietzsche’s political thought while highlighting a contest between politics and philosophy behind it. He thereby offers what he sees as an alternative to the philosophical politics of settled unified authority and reveals the deepest contest as one between politics and philosophy.