Strangers seem creepy to many. They immediately fear that these strangers will harm them. Many decent earners think that recipients of citizen benefits are lazy and therefore do not allow them to receive government support. To many educated people, illiterate people appear rude and simple-minded, with whom they therefore want as little as possible nothing to do with, whom they do not trust. Religious people are often afraid of atheists, who in turn are afraid of contact with religion. What you don't know often appears to be dangerous and you prematurely discount that. Such prejudices lead to rejection, which often solidifies to such an extent that counterarguments are no longer even heard. This is resentment that has existed for a long time, but which today makes consensus almost impossible in many political and social debates. This can degenerate into hate and contempt and then into violence whether between rich and poor, right and left, machos and feminists, abortion opponents and abortion advocates, vegetarians and meat-eaters. When one side prevails, it imposes its values on the other, and the resentment even becomes creative. In any case, it prevents you from making an effort to understand the other person. For Nietzsche, resentment has been driving the dispute over what is morally necessary for a long time.

“Resentment” is one of the key terms of Nietzsche's late work. The philosopher is referring to an internalized and solidified affect of revenge, which leads to the development of an overall negative approach to the world. Especially in On the genealogy of morality Nietzsche is trying to show that the entire European culture since the rise of Christianity has been based on this affect. Judaism and Christianity, in their hatred of aristocrats, propagated an ethics of the weak — in this act, resentment became creative. With a new creative ethic, Nietzsche now wants to contribute to a renewed revaluation of values in order to return to a life-affirming aristocratic ethic of the “strong.” In this article, Hans-Martin Schönherr-Mann introduces Nietzsche's reflections on resentment and works out what makes the accusation of mutual resentment so popular to this day.

Lou Wildemann ist Kulturwissenschaftlerin und Filmemacherin aus Leipzig. Ihr aktuelles Spielfilmprojekt, MALA, beschäftigt sich mit dem Suizid einer jungen Bewohnerin der Nietzsche-Stadt. Paul Stephan diskutierte mit ihr über dieses provokante Vorhaben und das Thema der Selbsttötung im Allgemeinen: Wieso ist es bis heute ein Tabu? Sollten wir mehr darüber sprechen? Welche Rolle können die Reflexionen Nietzsches, der immer wieder über dieses Thema nachdachte, dabei spielen? Was bedeutet der Suizid in einer immer gewaltvoller werdenden neoliberalen Gesellschaft?

In seiner jüngst erschienenen Studie Theorie der Befreiung fasst der Frankfurter Philosoph Christoph Menke Befreiung als „Faszination“, als lustvolle Desubjektivierung und Hingabe. Er bezieht sich dabei an entscheidender Stelle auf Nietzsche – doch für den bedeutet „Faszination“ gerade Verhexung, die Verstrickung in Unfreiheit und Ressentiment. Kann uns die mystische Kraft der Faszination wirklich befreien – oder ist nicht eher Nietzsche Recht zu geben und Befreiung bedeutet vor allem Selbstermächtigung und Autonomie, die faszinierte Aufopferung hingegen Unterwerfung, nicht zuletzt unter einen faschistischen Führer?