%0 Journal Article
%T Freedom Above Things: Nietzsche and the Artistic Critique of Capitalism
%A Gary Yeritsian
%J Critical Sociology
%@ 1569-1632
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/0896920517750743
%X This article has two analytical objectives: to read Nietzsche¡¯s thought as an instance of the ¡®artistic critique of capitalism,¡¯ as theorized by Boltanski and Chiapello; and to connect that reading to illustrative historical examples of left-wing movements on which Nietzsche¡¯s artistic critique exerted an influence. It thus brings into question the orthodox Marxist interpretation (associated primarily with Luk¨¢cs and Mehring) of Nietzsche as a reactionary apologist for imperialism and capitalism. Certainly, Nietzsche¡¯s political philosophy is explicitly elitist and antidemocratic, and thus in no way mounts a ¡®social critique¡¯ of the inegalitarianism and exploitation characteristic of modern class society. However, Nietzsche¡¯s opposition to industrial discipline and standardization and his championing of the struggle against generic alienations align him in a profound way with the liberatory impulse of the artistic critique
%K critical theory
%K Nietzsche
%K social theory
%K capitalism
%K Marxism
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0896920517750743