Unsere nihilistische Gegenwart - Der Aufstieg autoritärer Macht und die Krise des Liberalismus
Summary
Thomas Assheuer’s essay examines the return of nihilism in contemporary politics, arguing that the crisis of liberalism has paved the way for authoritarian power and the will to dominate. By tracing the concept from Nietzsche and early modern thinkers like Hobbes to current figures such as Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the text frames today’s geopolitical instability and ecological destruction as a failure of modernity’s promise of progress. Assheuer contends that while conservative critics have long dismissed the Enlightenment as a nihilistic project, the current existential threats to …
Topics discussed
Introduction: The Unheimliche Gast and Nihilism
Historical context: Post-Cold War optimism vs. current crisis
Nietzsche's definition of Nihilism and Will to Power
Modern authoritarianism: Putin, Iran, Sudan, and Trump
Active Nihilism: Climate sabotage and global arms race
The decline of liberal democracy and the 'America First' shift
Heidegger's critique of Modernity and the 'End of History'
Schmitt and Horkheimer: The 17th Century as the start of Nihilism
Guardini and Heiner Müller: Hamlet and the failure of Modernity
Newton, the loss of Telos, and the 1970s philosophical debate
Hobbes' 'State of Nature' and the return of authoritarianism
Defending Modernity: Origins in social justice, not hubris
Transhumanism, Elon Musk, and the neofeudal digital elite
Ecological crisis: The end of infinite time and future
Global cooperation vs. geopolitical fragmentation and nationalism
Conclusion: Nietzsche, Foucault, and the need for ecological survival
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