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About this quote

What does it mean?
People stay loyal to a cause mainly because their opponents are dull and uninteresting.
In plain terms
We stay faithful to a cause when its enemies are unappealing.
What can you take from it?
['loyalty', 'opposition']

Where it applies

  • political activism
  • social movements

Putting it to work

  • focus on cause substance
  • avoid complacency

Questions to consider

  • Do we ever stay loyal for intrinsic reasons?
  • How does opponent quality affect commitment?

Another view

Oversimplifies loyalty, ignoring genuine belief.

More from Friedrich Nietzsche

  1. A woman may very well form a friendship with a man, but for this to endure, it must be assisted by a little physical antipathy.

    Permalink to quote #211
  2. For out of fear and need each religion is born, creeping into existence on the byways of reason.

    Permalink to quote #213
  3. Ah, women. They make the highs higher and the lows more frequent. (Beyond Good and Evil)

    Permalink to quote #210

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