バートランド・ラッセル『ヒューマン・ソサエティ-倫理学から政治学へ』8-14 - Human Society in Ethics and Politics, 1954
* 原著:Human Society in Ethics and Politics, 1954* 邦訳書:バートランド・ラッセル(著),勝部真長・長谷川鑛平(共訳)『ヒューマン・ソサエティ-倫理学から政治学へ』(玉川大学出版部,1981年7月刊。268+x pp.)
『ヒューマン・ソサエティ』第8章:倫理学上の論争 n.14 |
Human Society in Ethics and Politics, 1954, chapter 8: Ethical Controversy , n.14 | |||
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I will conclude this chapter by summarizing previous arguments against what may be called the Nietzschean view, namely, that only a section of mankind are to be considered as ends, while the rest are merely means. In the first place, as soon as the section is defined, the theory will become inacceptable to all who do not belong to it; it cannot be expected, for instance, that men who are not white should admit that the world exists for the exclusive benefit of white men. So long as white men retain supremacy, men of other colours will preach the Rights of Man, and say that all men are equal. But if men of some other colour have some prospect of success, as the Japanese believed themselves to have after Pearl Harbour, they will become converts to the Nietzschean philosophy, merely substituting “yellow” for “white” -- a change of no logical importance. They will then in their turn be defeated, and claims will be made on behalf of the brown men or the black men. I even once met a Mexican Marxist, who contended that the essential message of Marx was the supremacy of the Red man, because none of the Red men in Mexico were capitalists. It is obvious that this doctrine of the supremacy of a section of mankind can only breed endless strife, with periodic changes as to which group is to be dominant. At each stage there will have to be oppression and cruelty to preserve the supremacy of the momentary Lords of the World. At all times there will be fear of insurrection, police tyranny, and indignant suffering for large sections of mankind. The rulers will not be happy, because they will fear assassination or rebellion. The dominant race will have to close their hearts to sympathy and their minds to facts. In the end they will perish in a bloody rebellion. No man would choose such a life with his eyes open. The Nietzschean theory is a dream, but in practice it is a nightmare. |