From Virtue to Vice: The Dynamics of Morality

Envy and resentment transform virtues into vices, highlighting a fundamental divergence in moral evaluation between 'masters' and 'slaves.' Ambition shifts to greed, appetite to gluttony, and confidence to pride, while the slave morality emerges as a reactionary force. It derives its concept of 'good' by inverting the values of the powerful, such as revering meekness over assertiveness and chastity over sensuality. Instead of establishing values for their own sake, those with slave morality use moral opposition as a weapon against the elites. This leads to a philosophy where the 'good' is defined in contrast to what the masters represent, giving rise to systems like Christianity and egalitarianism, which prioritize the inverse of affluent and powerful traits.