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We 'conserve' nothing; neither do we want to return to any past periods; we are not by any means 'liberal'; we do not work for 'progress'; we do not need to plug up our ears against the sirens who in the market place sing of the future: their song about 'equal rights,' 'a free society,' 'no more masters and no servants' has no allure for us.

Friedrich Nietzsche#92

PhilosophyPoliticsSocietyEqualityIdeologyProgressLiberalismNostalgia

About this quote

What does it mean?
Nietzsche rejects nostalgia, liberalism, and progress, dismissing future promises of equality and freedom as unappealing.
In plain terms
He says he has no interest in past, liberal, or progressive ideals.
What can you take from it?
Question mainstream narratives about progress.

Where it applies

  • political discourse
  • social movements

Putting it to work

  • critically assess slogans
  • avoid blind optimism

Questions to consider

  • What values do we truly seek?
  • When is progress beneficial?

Another view

His blanket rejection ignores genuine advances in human rights.

More from Friedrich Nietzsche

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  3. Could one count such dilettantes and old spinsters as that mawkish apostle of virginity, Mainlander, as a genuine German? In the last analysis he probably was …

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