Last man
The last man (letzter Mensch) is a philosophical archetype introduced by Friedrich Nietzsche in his 1883–1885 work Thus Spoke Zarathustra, portraying the degraded culmination of humanity under modern egalitarian impulses, where individuals pursue unexamined comfort, shun risk and aspiration, and embody passive nihilism through indifference to deeper existential questions.[1] In the prologue, Zarathustra presents the last man to the populace as one who claims to have "invented happiness" via modest pleasures and security, responding to inquiries about love, creation, longing, or stars with a mere blink, symbolizing superficiality and the erasure of striving.[2] This figure contrasts sharply with Nietzsche's ideal of the overman (Übermensch), who overcomes nihilism through self-creation and affirmation of life amid eternal recurrence, highlighting the last man's role as a cautionary vision of societal leveling that prioritizes herd conformity over individual excellence and vitality.[3] Nietzsche critiqued the last man as the foreseeable outcome of democratic and humanitarian ideologies that reduce human potential to mediocrity, fostering a culture of consumption without creation and averting the adversity necessary for growth.[4] The concept underscores Nietzsche's broader diagnosis of cultural decline following the "death of God," where the absence of transcendent values leads not to liberation but to complacent stagnation, influencing later thinkers in critiques of modernity and mass society.[5]Conceptual Foundations
Definition and Core Concept
The Last Man (der letzte Mensch) is a concept originated by Friedrich Nietzsche in his philosophical novel Thus Spoke Zarathustra (published in four parts between 1883 and 1885), denoting the hypothetical final stage of human development characterized by utter complacency, risk aversion, and the pursuit of unremarkable comfort at the expense of ambition, innovation, or existential depth.[6] Nietzsche employs this archetype to critique the trajectory of modern society toward egalitarian mediocrity, where individuals diminish their capacities to achieve superficial security, blinking indifferently at life's profound questions such as "What is love? What is creation? What is longing? What is a star?"[6] The figure emerges in the work's prologue, where a crowd demands Zarathustra transform them into Last Men, preferring this state over the arduous path to higher forms of humanity, and proclaiming they have "invented happiness" by reducing all aspirations to the lowest common denominator.[6] At its core, the Last Man embodies a causal endpoint of cultural and biological leveling: through democratic institutions, technological advancements, and the erosion of hierarchical values following the decline of religious absolutes, humanity forfeits the will to power—the drive for self-overcoming and creation—in favor of herd-like conformity and the elimination of suffering via minimized desires.[6] Nietzsche illustrates this through traits like tireless work for leisure, avoidance of great deeds or enmities, and a self-satisfied declaration that "We have made the earth small and secure," reflecting a profound atrophy of vitality where even reproduction serves mere preservation rather than enhancement of the species.[6] This concept underscores Nietzsche's empirical observation of historical trends toward mass conformity, as evidenced by 19th-century industrialization and political movements emphasizing equality over excellence, positioning the Last Man not as an individual but as the dominant type in a future society stagnant in its self-imposed triviality.[7] The idea draws from Nietzsche's broader physiological and psychological realism, positing that sustained prioritization of comfort erodes the instincts necessary for cultural flourishing, leading to a state where humanity, having conquered external threats, succumbs to internal decay without external strife to provoke growth.[3] Unlike transient historical figures of decline, the Last Man represents an enduring equilibrium of weakness, where no further evolution occurs because the conditions for striving—danger, inequality, and unfulfilled longing—have been systematically eradicated.[6]Origins in Nietzsche's Philosophy
The concept of the Last Man originates in Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None, with its first articulation appearing in the Prologue of Part I, published in April 1883.[6] In this section, the prophet Zarathustra descends from isolation to address humanity, proclaiming to the assembled crowd: "Behold, I teach you the overman. The overman is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the overman shall be the meaning of the earth!" before warning that they instead desire the Last Man, whom he derides as the one "who makes everything small" and whose motto is "'We have invented happiness,' say the last men, and they blink."[8] Nietzsche presents the Last Man as the endpoint of human development under the influences of modern egalitarianism, where the pursuit of universal comfort supplants striving for excellence, marking a form of decadence and self-satisfaction devoid of higher purpose.[6] This idea draws from Nietzsche's evolving critique of European culture, building on themes from his middle-period works such as Human, All Too Human (1878–1880) and Daybreak (1881), which examined the psychological and social mechanisms leading to cultural decline.[9] Preliminary formulations akin to the Last Man appear in Nietzsche's notebooks from 1881–1883, reflecting his growing preoccupation with the nihilistic consequences of the decline of religious and metaphysical values, though the vivid, symbolic depiction emerges fully in Zarathustra.[10] The Last Man's origins thus lie in Nietzsche's diagnosis of modernity's trajectory toward passive nihilism, contrasting sharply with his affirmative vision of life-affirmation and self-overcoming.[11]Description in Primary Texts
Appearance in Thus Spoke Zarathustra
In the Prologue to Thus Spoke Zarathustra, first published in 1883 as Part I of the work, Friedrich Nietzsche introduces the Last Man through the prophet Zarathustra's address to a marketplace crowd. After a decade of solitude in the mountains, Zarathustra descends to proclaim humanity's need to overcome itself toward the Overman, declaring, "Man is something that shall be overcome. What have ye done to overcome him?"[6] The crowd, however, misinterprets this vision of transcendence as an endorsement of their own complacent existence, shouting, "Give us this last man, O Zarathustra—make us into these last men! Then will we make thee a present of the overman!"[6] This exchange frames the Last Man not as Zarathustra's ideal, but as the degraded endpoint embraced by the masses, inverting his call for self-overcoming into a celebration of stagnation. Zarathustra then elaborates on the Last Man's character, portraying him as a diminutive figure who renders all things petty and seeks only superficial contentment: "The earth has become small, and on it hops the last man, who makes everything small. His kind is ineradicable, like the ground-flea; the last man lives longest."[6] The Last Man declares, "We have invented happiness," while blinking in self-satisfaction, prioritizing warmth, neighborly friction for comfort, and daily pleasures over any higher striving or torment of the spirit.[6] He abandons harsh environments for ease, reduces existence to health maintenance and meager joys, and dismisses profound questions—"What is love? What is creation? What is longing? What is a star?"—with indifferent blinking, embodying a contraction of human potential into survivalist mediocrity.[6] This depiction serves as a rhetorical device in the Prologue to critique the crowd's rejection of greatness, highlighting their preference for egalitarian comfort over the risks of individual elevation. The Last Man's resilience as an "ineradicable" type underscores Nietzsche's view of it as a persistent threat in modernizing societies, where herd instincts favor diminishment over ascent.[6] The passage establishes the Last Man as the antithesis to Zarathustra's Overman, setting the thematic tension for the book's exploration of nihilism and renewal.Key Quotations and Passages
In the prologue of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche introduces the last man through Zarathustra's address to the marketplace crowd, contrasting it with the overman as a vision of humanity's potential degradation into complacent mediocrity:Behold, I show you the last man. "What is love? What is creation? What is longing? What is a star?"—so asketh the last man and blinketh.Zarathustra elaborates on the last man's traits, depicting a existence defined by avoidance of exertion and aspiration:
The earth hath then become small, and on it there hoppeth the last man who maketh everything small. His species is ineradicable like that of the ground-fleas; the last man liveth longest.
"We have discovered happiness"—say the last men and blink thereby.[6]
They have left the regions where it is hard to live; for they need warmth. One still loveth one's neighbour and rubbeth against him; for one needeth warmth.The crowd's enthusiastic response underscores Nietzsche's critique of mass preference for such a state:
Turning ill and being distrustful, they consider sinful: they walk warily. He is a fool who still stumbleth over stones or men!
A little poison now and then: that maketh pleasant dreams. And much poison at last for a pleasant death.
One no longer becometh poor or rich; both are too burdensome. Who still wanteth to rule? Who to obey? Both are too burdensome.
No shepherd, and one herd! Every one wanteth the same; every one is equal: he who hath other sentiments goeth voluntarily into the madhouse.
"Formerly all the world was insane,"—say these most refined ones, and blink thereby.
They are clever and know all that hath happened: so there is no end to their raillery. People still fall out, but are soon reconciled—otherwise it spoileth their stomachs.
They have little lust for talking: that one speaketh well cometh from their lust. And how discreetly they please one another! Like a cat on hot bricks they walk in the world—there they lick their sweet, soft paws.
Their happiness is to work as a pastime, to overwork themselves not to become poor. For they care more for their health than for all the treasures of the world.[6]
"Give us this last man, O Zarathustra,"—they called out—"make us into these last men! Then will we make thee a present of the overman!" And all the people exulted and smote their hands.[6]These passages, from the Thomas Common translation, encapsulate the last man's rejection of higher striving in favor of superficial contentment, positioning it as the antithesis to Nietzsche's ideal of self-overcoming.[6]