The will to power is the will to ecstasy is the will to surrender is the will to submit and, in extremis, to die. Or to put it another way, the rage to attain a freedom and happiness one's psyche cannot accept creates enormous anxiety and ends in self-punishing despair.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Will to power, ecstasy, surrender, and death reflect a deep anxiety caused by the desire for unattainable freedom and happiness, leading to self‑destruction.
- In plain terms
- Desiring impossible freedom creates anxiety and self‑harm.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize and temper unrealistic expectations for freedom.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What freedoms do I truly need?
- How does my desire affect my well‑being?
Another view
Strong drive can also motivate positive change when channeled constructively.
More from Ellen Willis
For a decade Americans have been steeped in the rhetoric of 'zero tolerance' and the faith that virtually all problems from drug addiction to lousy teaching ca…
Permalink to quote #24 Can the high level of violence in patriarchal cultures be attributed to people's chronic, if largely unconscious, rage over the denial of their freedom and ple…
Permalink to quote #26 The notion that there might be any need for, or possibility of, profound changes in the institutions that shape American life work, family, technology, the pri…
Permalink to quote #23
Related quotes
Man dies in despair while the Spirit dies in ecstasy.
Honore de BalzacHonore de Balzac quote #60 The basis of optimism is sheer terror.
Oscar WildeOscar Wilde quote #89 Something was dead in each of us, And what was dead was Hope.
Oscar WildeOscar Wilde quote #209