Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, section 898.

That great process, the levelling of European man, is not to be retarded; it should even be accelerated. The necessity for widening gulfs, for social distance and for hierarchy, is thereby established; not the necessity for slowing that process. This levelled species requires a justification, once it has been attained; its justification is the service it provides to a superior, sovereign species who stands upon it and can arise and accomplish its tasks only upon this basis. I am not speaking of a master race whose tasks are thereby limited to governing, but a race with its own sphere of existence, with a surplus of energy for beauty, bravery, culture and manners, even in the most intellectual affairs; an affirmative race which may allow itself to indulge in every great luxury . . . strong enough to have no need of the tyrannical imperatives of virtue, rich enough to have no need of frugality and pedantry, beyond good and evil; a greenhouse for rare and exotic plants.

— Friedrich Nietzsche on Accelerationism

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "That great process, the levelling of European man, is not to be retarded; it should even be accelerated. The necessity for widening gulfs, for social distance and for hierarchy, is thereby established; not the necessity for slowing that process. This levelled species requires a justification, once it has been attained; its justification is the service it provides to a superior, sovereign species who stands upon it and can arise and accomplish its tasks only upon this basis. I am not speaking of a master race whose tasks are thereby limited to governing, but a race with its own sphere of existence, with a surplus of energy for beauty, bravery, culture and manners, even in the most intellectual affairs; an affirmative race which may allow itself to indulge in every great luxury . . . strong enough to have no need of the tyrannical imperatives of virtue, rich enough to have no need of frugality and pedantry, beyond good and evil; a greenhouse for rare and exotic plants." in the context of "Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, section 898." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Accelerationism" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Friedrich Nietzsche

About Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, writer, and philologist whose work has exerted a profound influence on modern intellectual history. His critiques of contemporary culture, religion, and philosophy centered on a basic question regarding the foundation of values and morality.