Nietzsche's Constructions of Power: Implications for International Business Ethics

Introduction

Human activity requires power to overcome obstacles and challenges. While essential, ambiguity remains around the conceptualization and utilization of power. For Oliga (1996), “the concept of power is central to social inquiry, yet it is highly varied and enigmatic” (p. 69). This is consequential as power is linked to both business rhetoric and praxis. In fact, from a critical perspective, the use of power is an important element of focus and critique (Barratt, 2004; Hudon & Rouillard, 2015; Voronov, 2005). Knights explained, “power is at the centre of any critical management studies research or writing since organizations are seen as sites for its social reproduction” (2009, p. 153). Understanding power better is not mainly about wielding it more effectively. Instead, a potential benefit could be enabling individuals to confront their roles in the conservation of given regimes of power (Foucault, 1980) and to overcome their own subjugation which frequently occurs due to imbalances in power. Since, “the way we conceive of power constitutes the very basis of its maintenance or possible transcendence in organizations” (Oliga, p. 92), establishing an understanding of power and its ethical use is consequential. Ironically, in order to move forward, it might be constructive to first look backward. Given Nietzsche’s prominence in modern and postmodern thought, his constructions of power are relevant for understanding the concept and its broader implications for ethics in social media and international business. In fact, computational analysis of Nietzsche’s work yields new insights based on keywords and collocations that hold potential value to business ethics and leadership.

In terms of the overall significance of Nietzsche’s work, Kaufmann (1989) maintained that “few thinkers of any age equal his influence” (p. 121). Similarly, Blackham (1959) alluded that Nietzsche’s work had a significant effect on modern thought. Such views are substantiated by Nietzsche’s observable prominence in streams of both modern and postmodern thought. From a modern perspective Starling (1997) explained, “the most glaring gap in the ever-growing literature of business ethics is the neglect of Friedrich Nietzsche, one of the most disturbing and influential thinkers of the modern age” (p. 2), whereas from a postmodern perspective, due to “repetition and lack of progress” in the postmodern leadership literature, “those directed to follow management” might be inspired to “follow Nietzsche instead and transcend their subordination” (Jackson, Reboulet & Bode, 2019, p. 60). Through Nietzsche’s work, one is able to weave together threads of modern and postmodern thought illustrating that his constructions of power are potentially relevant for understanding implications of ethics in the broadest sense possible. In fact, the potential relevance of Nietzsche to twenty-first century phenomena is observable already, albeit in a reductionist form, through his salience in social media and popular culture (Simpson, 2017). Analyzed together, these findings suggest a gap in existing studies of philosophy and business leadership ethics conducted to date, and that benefit could be derived from a reexamination of Nietzsche’s collected philosophical works with a focus on his conceptions of power.