How Winning Boosts a Person's "Will to Power" (And How to Apply That to Political Victories)

 

"The world is the will to power and nothing besides." Friedrich Nietzsche

Some people mistake Nietzsche's quote as a call to crush any who stand in your way to when you have set a goal. No, it is a call for personal growth and becoming the best you can be.  You will only be fulfilled as a person if you can master yourself and your environment, And that can mean setting goals to become physically fit, have a strong family or stand up for your principles.  However, while this is mostly a factor of your personality and even soul, there is another extremely important component - a hormone called testosterone.

Many people think testosterone is merely a male hormone that helps make muscles grow.  That is partly true.  Actually, men and women both make testosterone, though males have much higher levels.  And yes, it is very important in fitness and muscle development, but one factor people forget, even in regard to fitness, is that it is a motivational hormone. Higher levels of testosterone generally give us more drive, or, as Nietzsche would have said "a will to power." And nature provides both men and women a reward or boost in that when we exercise, and even better when we hit a goal, our testosterone surges. So winning in one area can transcend into a stronger drive to sin in other fields. 

In that regard, maybe the fact that losing lowers our testosterone, and thus our will to compete, had advantages in the past. If you were at war, and it looked bleak, your testoserone goes into freefall and a soldier in that circumstance might surrender. If he survived he could go back home and make babies, as opposed to the guys who in the beginning of the battle surged the enemy and wound up dead.  Of course one circumstance that would not work is if you were at war with a Muslim army back when the slave trade was booming.  Male prisoners were usually castrated and sold in the markets for labor. This had a duel function, first, it make sure these male slaves couldn't impregnate women and second, the castration, while probably making the new slave a bit angry, would soon become a very docile worker as he no longer had testicles and very little production of testosterone anymore. 

So how does this apply to politics and society today?  In much of our history men worked from sunrise to sunset. There was no need to go to the gym or jog as you worked your body quite hard, and thus you would increase your testosterone.  Modern living made work less physical and  more cerebral, which would certainly lower testosterone. However, JFK, seeing that young people needed to work and stay healthy, instituted the physical education programs that Generation X would grow to both love and hate. In the 1970s and early 1980s PE classes meant running around the track, doing push ups and then some sport.  That kept people in better shape, obviously, but it also meant higher competitiveness as well as questioning authority (an aspect to will to power) as well as higher sperm count in males.

Then we saw the movement to make "every child a winner" pushed by, generally, childless female grade school teachers. They said it was mean to have some kids come in last, forgetting that it could be a great motivator to develop, and not do it in the future.  At the same time we saw parents give their kids their own TVs, then computers and then gaming systems.  While Generation X kids would get on their bikes in the mornings and not be home until sundown, the new generations used their time sitting on their butts in front of a screen.  Is it any wonder men seem weaker today? Is it surprising that testosterone levels are dropping, as is male fertility? Is it surprising that many young people are developing nihilistic outlooks and more left-wing attitudes as the left can blame all their shortcomings on "the patriarchy" and now Trump, rather than set goals and advance?

Speaking of how the Arab slave trade operated, when a male in particular is reminded of not winning it is akin to a form of castration. When he posts something on social media hating on Trump or MAGA in general, and you counter him with detailed arguments, he doesn't listen, in fact the attention validates him.  Better to just reply simply that Trump is his president, reminding him his side lost.  Better yet, post a funny meme mocking his views.  That will reinforce the loss of his "will to power" and in a sense you are insuring his hormones remain on the decline, and decreasing his effectiveness in any political endeavours he undertakes.  Did you know there were studies done on testosterone levels of sports players as well as political activists and when one's team was seen as destined to lose their testosterone plummeted? Yep, the intersection of biology and political science. And, just to repeat, losing creates a feedback loop of losing. 

Of course, this sounds mean, and it probably is. Effective though.  A more positive approach is to encourage males around you to strive for physical fitness, yes, even liberals, maybe even particularly liberals.  It has been shown that if a man starts an intense exercise program he starts to become more conservative, much the same as when a liberal woman has a baby she starts to become more conservative (maybe that is why Democrats are so positive to abortion or label fitness as "right wing?").  

Yes, it sounds strange, but exercise and hitting goals can give all people, particularly males, as sense of empowerment, and that tends to lead to a person realizing their locus of control is internal. This leads to a more conservative outlook on life.  So the best thing you can do for your kids or grand-kids is to encourage physical activity as well as seeing competition as a positive thing. They won't win everytime, but those times they do their mental and physical strength will be reinforced  and they will not sink into the nihilistic despair we too often see in many young people today. 

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