Ubermensch in NYC
The assassination of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in Midtown Manhattan has enraptured the nation. In the early morning hours, as the CEO was walking on the street outside of his hotel, he was shot in the back repeatedly and killed by a masked gunman. The assassin fled the city after the cold execution and a national manhunt ensued. Within hours of the killing being publicized, the internet was set ablaze with not only condemnation for the murder but a staggering amount of support. Many were hailing the killer as a Robinhood-type figure who has struck a blow against a greedy and miserly class of people. Some even high-profile journalists have described elation at this murder occurring or opining about the possibility of this happening to other CEOs. Politicians and commentators alike have seized upon this moment not to repudiate targeted violence but to further the conversation that the killer had abruptly begun about healthcare in this country. The assassin's shell casings were marked with “Delay, Deny, Defend” to directly indicate his intention to indict the healthcare system with his act. After a manhunt that lasted less than a week, the suspected killer was found at a McDonalds in Pennsylvania. The profile of the suspected killer as an Ivy League-educated rich kid with a manifesto emerged as his identity was released to the public. As many are swept up in the fervor of the current moment and support of what they think to be a moral good, they should examine their belief in law and order and the foundation it rests upon.
In 1866, Crime and Punishment was written by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The literary classic is the story of how a young, intelligent man devises a plot to murder a wealthy and greedy landlady and then the fallout of his actions. The protagonist, Raskolnikov, is much like our suspected CEO killer, in the sense that he is a young man who is very intelligent but has fallen on hard times. In the book, he is experiencing crushing poverty. Our suspected CEO killer is a UPenn graduate who had a tough back surgery. As Raskolnikov has plotted to kill his landlady because she is rich and evil, and preys upon the poor, the CEO killer has killed because he perceives American healthcare executives to be evil and preying on Americans. Raskolnikov specifically has devised a philosophical framework where he can justify his actions even though they do break and supersede the moral and legal order of the day. He is serving the greater good; he only must possess the will to act. The philosopher Nietzsche would decades later describe this kind of man as the Ubermensch or the superman. It would not be a stretch to surmise a similar motive from the manifesto of the CEO killer as he describes healthcare executives as parasites and details their victimization of the American people. Both have justified their actions to themselves. The question is: how will this pan out for them?
Raskolnikov learns very quickly that his philosophy will not hold after he has followed through on his plan to murder. His perceived goal of enriching himself and other peasants by getting rid of this landlady does not come to fruition. No one is made richer and the crushing poverty that these poor Russian peasants live within is not alleviated. Not only are the material effects not what he expected but the more palpable effect is the complete degradation of Raskolnikov’s soul and psyche. The lesson that emerges for Raskolnikov becomes one that is less about how a smart and great man can bend society and the moral order to his will, and more about how man must humble himself in his brokenness and search for forgiveness for his indiscretions against God and fellow man. The Ubermensch or superman that Raskolnikov aims to be, and the philosopher Nietzsche describes, does not come to fruition in Crime and Punishment. Through learning about accepting his lot in life, forgiveness, and mercy in companionship with another character in the book, Raskolnikov at long last begins to move towards peace of heart as he atones for his crime in a Siberian penal colony.
Today’s suspected CEO killer is in a different spot than Raskolnikov in the novel. His crime is exposed to the public, and he has even been met with praise for his murder. At the time that the novel was written, there was no internet or other way for fringe voices to announce mass support for an action like Raskolnikov’s. Our society now has an open question of how we treat Raskolnikov and how he will react. In the novel, Raskolnikov is trapped in a mental prison of rehashing an action and a philosophy that he feels is wrong. What if he was assured by a large enough component of society that his actions were not morally reprehensible? Would he unravel in the same way that he does in the story, or would he possess the will to be the Ubermensch? Even if he were to come to view his actions as wrong, would he possess the conviction for a change of heart with so much support for his actions? However, this does create a bind for the belief in the Ubermensch. If the Ubermensch could only be the superman if he was properly supported, he is no Ubermensch at all but a mere man who is subject to the same wills and passions of anyone else. This brings us to a predictable place in history, mob anger. If society is willing to invalidate existing precepts of right and wrong based not upon the facts of the case, but public sentiment, the Ubermensch could effectively become a tool to be used by any amount of people with a grievance to air and people to intimidate.
The question of supporting the assassination of the UnitedHealthcare CEO is a strangely hotly debated topic today. This question is not only about confidence in the American healthcare industry but cuts directly to the core of law and order in society and to moral relativism. Does the individual in society have recourse to an objective moral order or God, and do we approximate this judgment with a reflecting legal system? Is recompense made through punishment, penance, and forgiveness or if not, what is the alternative? In a morally relativistic society, we need this Ubermensch to break through taboos and bring us to a better place with his superior will. However, we are subject to his predations as well, as our moral order sits on nothing except the acceptance of those who are too weak to subvert it. To those who do believe that the Ubermensch has gunned down a CEO in New York City, it would be wise to prepare yourself for when the next Ubermensch brings his aim to something that you do support.