Nietzsche’s Argument of Justice: The Debtor/Creditor Relationship

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The system of justice that Nietzsche employs although somewhat cynical has a substantial amount of merit as a form of justice, which is present in our society. This is demonstrated through the depiction of the creditor/debtor relationship that exists in our democratic societies, and the equalization process that occurs, and furthermore that Nietzsche is correct to assess justice as such a principle. The issue is most obvious in the penal system; however it is also prevalent in personal day-to-day relationships as well as political structures.

Nietzsche describes the creditor/debtor relation as a manifestation of guilt present within the individual, which in turn makes them feel like they owe something to another. Because of this relationship, the individual to whom the guilt is directed assumes the position of the creditor; this is how the relationship between the creditor and debtor begins. The creditor requires the debtor to suffer in some way partially for his or her own satisfaction partially as a repayment of the guilt. Although this is not, in Nietzsche's opinion, the origin plan it is however its current use . Thus the inclusion of the principle of equalization of suffering is introduced. In order to equalize the debt that the debtor owes and partially as a manifestation of power on the part of the creditor, the creditor punishes the debtor to equalize the balance. Having analyzed this, Nietzsche clearly defines this relationship of suffering between creditor/debtor to be the major component in justice, which is purposed to bring about moral righteousness.

Nietzsche’s view can be expressed specifically in the penal system of today. The creditor/debtor relationship exists to a large extent in criminal behavior and its co...

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... to reason that an equalization of power does lead to justice.

By applying the Nietzsche theories of creditor/debtor payoff structures in our modern society it is obvious that an equalization of power exists in all these scenarios. Firstly through law enforcement it is obvious that punishment although sometimes excessive does have an equalization effect on crime, secondly though a financial perspective which consists of interest charges fueling the banks desire for money resulting in punishment of its customers and finally through the political perspective in the structure of electee requiring the support of the voters is an obvious representation of punishment in both democracies and dictatorships. Therefore Nietzsche’s argument of justice is ultimately an equalization of suffering in the debtor/creditor relationship which is true and evidenced in modern society.

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