Great Debate

In 1889, Danish literary critic Georg Brandes published “Aristocratic Radicalism: An Essay on Friedrich Nietzsche,” which transformed the as-yet-unknown German-Swiss philosopher into a European, and ultimately global, phenomenon. The article sparked a furious public debate between Brandes and a fellow Dane, philosopher Harald HØffding, who swiftly issued a rebuttal,  “Democratic Radicalism: An Objection.” What began as a scholarly disagreement over Nietzsche’s philosophy rapidly spiraled into a sprawling contest of competing visions of society’s future, one radically aristocratic and the other radically democratic. Marking the moment at which the uniquely Nordic concept of social democratic welfare was first contested in the public sphere, this debate provides insights into not only Nietzschean philosophy and its immediate reception but also the foundational concept of modern Scandinavian social, cultural, and political organization. This volume presents, for the first time in any language other than Danish, the debate in its entirety: three essays by Brandes and three by HØffding. A critical introduction by editor and translator William Banks explores the exchange in its context and convincingly argues that the principles contested by the two Danish luminaries still very much resonate in Western society today.

“Brandes and HØffding’s debate concerning Nietzsche as an advocate of ‘aristocratic radicalism’ is of immense relevance and interest today, representing one of the first clashes between elitism and democratism. Banks’s critical introduction, extremely useful in situating the debate in its historical context, intriguingly shows how Nietzsche’s notion of the aristocrat has been taken over by the great celebrity entrepreneurs of our time.”—Ishay Landa, The Open University of Israel

Georg Brandes (1842–1927) was a Danish intellectual, author, and critic, best known for his six-volume Main Currents. Harald HØffding (1843–1931) was a Danish philosopher and professor at the University of Copenhagen. William Banks is the editor and translator of Human Rights and Oppressed Peoples: Collected Essays and Speeches, by Georg Brandes.