The Last Man
Most people are familiar with Friedrich Nietzsche’s Übermensch from Thus Spake Zarathustra. The Übermensch is Nietzsche’s name for the next phase of the evolution of man.
Far fewer are familiar with the Übermensch’s antithesis, The Last Man. The Last Man is what Nietzsche fears that man may become. The Last Man is weak willed, tired of life, averse to risk, and desires only comfort in security in life. Nietzsche saw Western civilization declining around him. He saw the strong men who built Western civilization replaced with weak and apathetic men, lacking in passion and courage — focused only on continuing their pathetic existences.
Unfortunately, the trend which Nietzsche saw beginning in the late 1800′s has overtaken so many men as to now become a major risk for all of Western civilization. Western civilization may now lack the strength of will to sustain itself.
Government programs which encourage uselessly weak people to reproduce sap the strength of our species. “Progressive” income taxes sap our capability to dream of greatness. The push for equality of outcomes removes mans motivation to succeed — to make something better of himself. We now encourage the new generations of mankind to sit in school and listen and then to reproduce, all on government or corporate welfare.
We do not encourage humans to make anything better of themselves — to become better men. We are, in effect, short-circuiting the process of evolution. We are destroying the fruits of billions of years of progress with our short-sighted drive for comfort. We are, The Last Men.