Abstract

Capitalism has a staggering impact on modern society’s views of health, wellness, and the ascetic ideal. Modern capitalism has adjusted this ideal originating in Buddhism but promoted by Nietzsche from something meaning overcoming human desires in a spiritual manner, or reaching enlightenment, to stamping out these desires entirely and refusing to acknowledge them for what they are. This is predominantly through the rise of social media and the “fitness influencer”- an individual who popularizes an ideal of perfection often unattainable or unsustainable without the significant resources unavailable to all in inequitable capitalist societies. This project argues that Nietzsche’s ascetic ideal centers around resentment being turned inward, which is exactly what the capitalist fitness industry seeks to do: make the consumer hate themselves so they continue to participate in the vicious cycle of self-hate and economic stimulation.