"This Is What Losers Do Instead Of Failing”
In a Nutshell
People who fail at external success often cope by redefining success around internal virtue and morality, creating an "inner citadel" that shields them from facing their shortcomings. This slave morality manifests as resentment toward achievement, claims that money or relationships don't matter, or ideologies like polyamory that reframe personal failures as enlightened choices. External success won't solve all internal problems, but avoiding pursuit of it through moral superiority is still a coping mechanism rather than genuine wisdom.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Nietzsche believed that poor and middle class people, not all but some, become obsessed with morality and virtue when they fail to achieve external success such as money, a good wife, or a nice house. Unable to attain the life they want, they shift the goalpost from external success to internal virtue, which they define themselves. This creates a free copout where instead of winning in life, they claim "I'm a good person" without needing to prove external accomplishments.
The phenomenon is largely subconscious. People are not aware they are coping by redefining success around morality because they could not achieve external success. Nietzsche recognized that these individuals make up concepts to make themselves feel better about their lack of achievement.
Many Christians claim Jesus represents slave morality, suggesting the wealthy face greater difficulty entering heaven, citing the verse about the camel and the needle. They argue against pursuing money as anti-Christian. However, Jesus did not operate from resentment, which distinguishes true slave morality from his teachings. Money is not inherently negative and can be used to help people and accomplish significant good.
Videos addressing this topic receive significant negative feedback. Commenters accuse the speaker of being out of touch, materialistic, and judgmental. The speaker acknowledges he never expected agreement but felt compelled to state the truth regardless. He admits he used to be this type of person, which gives him insight into the coping mechanism.
Not everyone concerned with being good does so from resentment toward successful people, but a large percentage surely do.
Isaiah Berlin's concept of the inner citadel describes what happens when the path to human fulfillment is blocked. Individuals retreat into themselves, walled off against the world's ills, and create their own laws. An example is someone whose leg is injured in battle who, unable to rehabilitate it, cuts it off and declares the desire for legs misguided and must be subdued.
This pattern appears across multiple domains. People claim weight has no bearing on health because they struggled to lose weight. Those unable to hold jobs declare work is for suckers and turn to crime. Individuals cheated on who struggle with relationships may adopt polyamory or become incels. At each juncture, the person rewrites the rules to avoid facing the reality that different actions might have yielded different results.
The arrival fallacy is the second unpopular idea to discuss online. It states that reaching the top of the mountain you are climbing will not be as satisfying as expected. Those who have achieved success or fame rarely report that all their inner problems were solved. When someone who has achieved external success tells others that the achievement will not satisfy them, it is perceived as judgmental and bourgeoise. The critic appears to be pulling the ladder up after themselves.
Two explanations exist for why external success does not resolve internal voids. Either achieving external goals does not reliably fill internal emptiness, or successful people form a conspiracy to discourage others from pursuing success. The first explanation is accurate. People cannot fill internal voids with external accolades.
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