In Kaufmann’s telling, all of Nietzsche’s experiments track back to a vision of true power only achievable through individual autonomy. Nietzschean power, he argued, had nothing to do with brute force or with power over others. The truly powerful individual rejects all forms of political, religious, and ideological affiliation; he refuses to borrow meaning from or to legislate values for others. Power is the standard of one’s values, and these standards can never be confirmed by others. The truly powerful individual does not seek to hurt others; he is indifferent to them.
