Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None

Zarathustra says of the state, “State is the name of the coldest of all cold monsters. It even lies coldly, and this lie crawls out of its mouth: ‘I, the state, am the people’” (34). Each people from each state, Zarathustra asserts, has their own ideas of good and evil, which are inherently incompatible with their neighbors. Zarathustra further critiques the state, saying, “Language confusion of good and evil: this sign I give you as the sign of the state. Indeed, this sign signifies the will to death! Indeed, it beckons the preachers of death!” (35). The state has become the new idol, as people worship it and adhere to its will. In return, the state desires this worship and the status of master over virtue. Zarathustra states that superfluous people are the most susceptible to the preachers of death and the state. The superfluous steal the works of inventors and the wise in the hope of educating themselves. For these people, life turns into hardship, as they experience contempt towards one another. Zarathustra states, “They all want to get to the throne, it is their madness—as if happiness sat on a throne! Often mud sits on the throne—and often too the throne on mid” (36).