The relation between
anarchism and
Friedrich Nietzsche has been ambiguous. Even though Nietzsche criticized anarchism, his thought proved influential for many thinkers within what can be characterized as the anarchist movement. As such "[t]here were many things that drew
anarchists to Nietzsche: his hatred of the state; his disgust for the
mindless social behavior of 'herds'; his
anti-Christianity; his distrust of the effect of both the market and the State on cultural production; his desire for an '
übermensch'—that is, for a new human who was to be neither
master nor slave".