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kerry · #9 10-27-2010, 10:13 AM

Finished it up. I thought his explanations of both National Socialism and Nietzsche were very good. Clear, succinct, and focused. Well worth watching. His analysis of where Nietzsche and the Nazis coincide and disagree is fuzzier. There are clear similarities and very clear differences. The biggest problem is his claim that Nietzsche is a collectivist the way that Nazis are collectivist. I don't think that argument holds up. Even if it does, the Nazis were nationalist and Arayan whereas for Nietzsche, if a collectivism exists, is focused on the species as a collective. This is so far removed from National Socialism as to be in a completely different political category. It made me think that if Hicks' argument is correct, then Aristotle was a collectivist also.
The final part of the analysis where he summarizes National Socialism and elaborates on it's opposite which we are to assume must be held to be true in order to oppose Nazism is the weakest part I think. The weakness of this section is tied in with the weakness of his collectivist argument. He is arguing, in effect, that capitalist individualism is the only coherent opposition to National Socialism. This is both historically and logically false. Hitler didn't kill Marxists and Anarchists for no reason. He also refrained from killing capitalists for good reason. The question of what political theory or theories is best suited to resist National Socialism is far more complex than his brief summary admits. His views in fact, may exacerbate the very social, cultural and economic conflicts that allowed for the rise of National Socialism to begin with.
Nevertheless, his excellent summaries of both National Socialism and Nietzsche are worth watching. Be warned however, that the budget for this film was pretty small and the use of visual techniques to convey his points fairly primitive. The substance of the film is easily retained in the soundtrack alone.