Nietzsche and the Bronze Age Mindset

Anonymous internet personality BAP has written a cult classic, Bronze Age Mindset. BAP talks a lot about Nietzsche in his book as well as on twitter. In this memo, read about the importance of leisure, the real meaning of Nietzsche's phrase "beyond good and evil," and more👇

Against socialism. Some say Nietzsche is compatible with socialism, but BAP notes Nietzsche called socialism a "a tyranny of the least and the dumbest." Nietzsche wanted real-life experiments that show how in a "socialist society life negates life, cuts off its own roots."

BAP writes that according to Nietzsche "you should distrust any thoughts you’ve had indoors." The location matters - even most contemporary cities with their noise and heartless architecture are hostile to "real thoughts."

BAP writes there are "some nice words on friendship in Nietzsche in Zarathustra." Here's a line from Zarathustra: "If one wants a friend, then one must also want to wage war for him: and in order to wage war, one must be able to be an enemy."

Zarathustra asks: "Are you pure air and solitude and bread and medicine to your friend?" This is a friendship that is refreshing as pure air, relaxing as solitude, almost mundane like bread, and yet timely like medicine.

BAP notes how Nietzsche was aware of "stateless international finance" 150 years ago. Nietzsche described a "money aristocracy" that uses "state and society as an apparatus for their own enrichment." This is a prescient critique of neoliberal capitalism.

Nietzsche said, "Whoever does not have two-thirds of his day for himself, is a slave." BAP hates working, and writes "leisure is the source of all great things." One must be free from life's tedious demands for "all high science, all beautiful living, all adventures."

Quoting Nietzsche, BAP writes the Roman aristocracy had a motto "otium et bellum, leisure and war." Both are missing from the modern world. We are incessantly busy with a thousand minor things, and yet not one of them presents the challenge or excitement of war.

Some interpret Nietzsche's phrase Beyond Good And Evil to mean there's "no possibility to evaluate men or events," but BAP writes the phrase rather means that different standards apply to ordinary men and great men who are ready to make "a great gamble for great gains."

Nietzsche believes lower classes must've learnt to act first as they quickly changed personas in precarious settings to survive. But some upper class professions - diplomacy - also spur the development of acting. To act is to simulate a different reality - also the basis for art.