“Strength is right,” or “Survival of the fittest” ( English Might is Right, or The Survival of the Fittest ) is a book published by an unknown author under the pseudonym Ragnar Redbeard in 1896 [1] [2 ] ] . The book advocates the ideas of social Darwinism . In his work, Redbird denies the idea of human or natural rights and argues that only force is the basis of all law.
| Strength is right Survival of the fittest | |
|---|---|
| Might is right The survival of the fittest | |
| Author | Ragnar Redbird |
| Genre | Philosophy Social Darwinism |
| Original language | English |
| Original published | 1896 year |
| Publisher | Dil pickle press |
| ISBN | 0-9728233-0-1 |
Content
Authorship
There is an opinion that the name is a pseudonym, among various versions it is attributed to Arthur Desmond , Jack London or Ambrose Biers , there is also a version that two people are hidden under a pseudonym (one of which is also given the name of Jack London). [3]
Arthur Desmond
There is an opinion that the pseudonym Ragnar Redbird belongs to the Australian writer, poet, journalist and publisher Arthur Desmond , whose birth year, year, place and method of death are also different in different sources. However, there are differences between Desmond's views and beliefs and the content of the work “Power is Law”. Among the similar ones, the fact that Arthur Desmond actively collaborated with socialist and anarchist circles, while “Strength is right,” contains many critical reviews directed towards these same circles, is highlighted. Among the facts in favor of belonging to the pseudonym Desmond, there are also some links between the content of the work and Australia and New Zealand, where Desmond mainly lived and worked. According to the same version, the work was written in 1893 in Australia.
Jack London
In favor of the version that the pseudonym Ragnar Redbird belongs to Jack London , the fact is presented that London at the stage of its early work supported the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche , Herbert Spencer and Charles Darwin . “Strength is right” contains many ideas expressed by these individuals. However, when accepting the fact that “Strength is right,” it was written in 1896, then Jack London was 19-20 years old at that time. Somewhere around this time, London began its first creative steps, and besides writing a 19-year-old similar, full of many references, the work is doubtful. [3] In addition, Jack London did not write poems, while in the work of Redbird there is a certain number of poems.
Satirical Version
According to this version, the author of the book did not pursue any political or scientific goals, but wanted to paint a realistic picture of human society “Impartially and without embellishment. Laughing and contemptuously spitting. ” [1] In particular, a number of researchers in the West even believe that“ Power is right ”is an extremely caustic and evil satire, written, probably, by an extremely angry man against his brothers [4] .
And yet, despite a lot of speculation, it has still not been possible to determine the identity of the Redbird. However, with a high degree of probability it can be argued that he was a native of Australia, since he repeatedly refers to Australian authors whose names were not known outside this British colony [1] .
Reaction
In his book “ What is Art, ” Leo Tolstoy commented on the book:
This art partly gave rise, partly coincided with the same philosophical doctrine. I recently got a book from America entitled The survival of the fittest. Philosophy of Power. " 1897 by Ragnar Redbeard, Chicago ( "Survival of the fittest. Philosophy of power" by Regner Redbird. Chicago. 1897 ). The essence of this book, as expressed in the publisher's introduction, is that it is insane to evaluate good by the false philosophy of the Jewish prophets and weeping messiahs . Law is a consequence not of teaching, but of power. All laws, commandments, teachings not to do to others what you do not want to be done to you, have no meaning in themselves and receive it only from a stick, prison and sword. A truly free man is not obliged to obey any precepts - neither human nor divine. Obedience is a sign of degeneration; disobedience is a sign of the hero. People should not be bound by traditions invented by their enemies. The whole world is a slippery battlefield. The ideal justice is that the vanquished are exploited, tormented, despised. Free and brave can conquer the whole world. And therefore there must be an eternal war for life, for land, for love, for women, for power, for gold. (Something similar was stated several years ago by the famous refined academician Vogüé .) The earth with its treasures is “the extraction of the bold.”
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Dmitry Popov: Unnecessary information about an unnecessary book . - Preface to the Russian-language edition of Redbird's book. Date of treatment June 1, 2016.
- ↑ “One source, however, categorically insists on 1896 - and he is right, because in his book Redbird repeatedly quotes periodicals for 1896, and for December” Dmitry Popov: Unnecessary information about an unnecessary book
- ↑ 1 2 Preface “Unnecessary Information on an Unnecessary Book” by Para Bellum for the work “Strength is Right”. Ragnar Redbird. Revolva Publishing House, St. Petersburg, 2005. ISBN 5-94089-036-5
- ↑ Unnecessary information about the unnecessary book “Western researchers, by the way, complain that the radicals, having adopted“ Force is the Right, ”did not catch Redbird’s irony and took his poisonous satire too seriously. Some even suggest that Redbird wrote his book, simply angry at the human race. " Dmitry Popov: Unnecessary information about an unnecessary book