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It is mere illusion and pretty sentiment to expect much from mankind if he forgets how to make war. And yet no means are known which call so much into action as a great war, that rough energy born of the camp, that deep impersonality born of hatred, that conscience born of murder and cold-bloodedness, that fervor born of effort of the annihilation of the enemy, that proud indifference to loss, to one's own existence, to that of one's fellows, to that earthquake-like soul-shaking that a people needs when it is losing its vitality.

Friedrich Nietzsche#52

PsychologyPoliticsHistoryMotivationWarEnergy

About this quote

What does it mean?
War awakens a fierce, impersonal energy in people that ordinary life cannot stimulate, making it a powerful, though destructive, motivator.
In plain terms
War triggers a unique, intense drive in societies.
What can you take from it?
Recognize the seductive power of conflict and seek healthier sources of energy.

Where it applies

  • political analysis
  • military history

Putting it to work

  • channel competitive spirit into sport
  • use collective challenges for unity

Questions to consider

  • Why do societies romanticize war?
  • What alternatives can provide comparable vigor?

Another view

War’s destructive cost outweighs any motivational benefit.

More from Friedrich Nietzsche

  1. In the mountains of truth you will never climb in vain: either you will get up higher today or you will exercise your strength so as to be able to get up highe…

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  2. He who is punished is never he who performed the deed. He is always the scapegoat.

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  3. With all great deceivers there is a noteworthy occurrence to which they owe their power. In the actual act of deception... they are overcome by belief in thems…

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