Critical Sociology 1–13 © The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0896920516681426 crs.sagepub.com The Social Individual and the Last Human: Marx and Nietzsche Agree to Disagree Ishay Landa The Open University, Israel Abstract In their appreciation of modernity, Marx and Nietzsche have a lot in common. It is mistaken, for example, to assume that Nietzsche was interested chiefly in ethical and cultural matters, as opposed to Marx’s supposed fixation on the economic ‘base’. Nietzsche’s whole notion of culture was predicated upon a keen appreciation of the indispensable role of the economic base in sustaining all culture, while Marx, conversely, was deeply concerned about the fate of civilization. In that respect, it is useful to underline their ‘agreement’. Their disagreement concerns their respective social vantage-points: Marx envisioned a society overcoming class divisions, whereas Nietzsche directed all his powers at preventing precisely such an outcome. I will attempt to illustrate the usefulness of juxtaposing Marx’s notion of ‘the social individual’ with Nietzsche’s famous depiction of ‘the Last Human’, arguing that their true meaning emerges best when they are brought together. Keywords Marxism, critical theory, Nietzsche, the Last Man, capitalism, dialectics, Victorianism, communism Introduction Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche have a lot in common in their basic vision of modernity. It is mistaken, for example, to assume that Nietzsche was interested chiefly in ethical and cultural matters, as opposed to Marx’s supposed fixation on the economic ‘base’. Nietzsche’s whole notion of culture was predicated upon a keen appreciation of the indispensable role of economic arrange- ments, particularly of the hierarchical division of labor, in sustaining all culture, while Marx, for his part, was deeply concerned about the fate of civilization. In that respect, it is useful to underline their ‘agreement’. Their disagreement concerns rather their respective social vantage-points and Corresponding author: Ishay Landa, The Dorothy de Rothschild Open University Campus, Department of History, Philosophy and Judaic Studies, 1 University Road, P.O. Box 808, Raanana 43537, Israel. Email: ishayla@openu.ac.il 681426CRS 0 0 10.1177/0896920516681426Critical SociologyLanda research-article 2016 Article by guest on November 28, 2016 crs.sagepub.com Downloaded from