In 1886 philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche published Beyond Good and Evil. In this piece Nietzsche defines what he believes is wrong with society and who must change it. He writes that an extraordinary man must save society from its perpetual decent into irrelevance. There are only a few of these extraordinary men in the world, Nietzsche believes. The story Crime and Punishment author Fyodor Dostoevsky's place the main character Raskolnikov in situations where the outcome of his actions will tell if he is one of the chosen.
             Friedrich Nietzsche defines an extraordinary man as one that embodies a free sprit, independence, and the ability to accept the truth. Nietzsche breaks down man in Beyond Good and Evil in order to be able to distinguish the herd man from the superior. He first states, "A living thing seeks above all to discharge its strength - life itself is will to power (intro, BG, pg13)", which means that every man wants to become powerful. However Nietzsche believes that we as society have put the wrong people in powerful positions. Society has failed in elevating those who truly are qualified to rule. The qualified or extraordinary are continually blocked in their efforts. Society has suppressed these individuals from rising to power. Because these men appear very scarcely in the world Nietzsche believes they must break away from the crowd. Nietzsche writes "Independence is for the very few; it is a privilege of the strong. And whoever attempts it even with the best right but without inner constraint proves that he is probably not only strong, but also daring to the point of recklessness (Part 2, BG, pg29)". From this we infer that the extraordinary man must be willing to take risks. To be able to take risks one must posses a free sprit. In return by having a free sprit one will be strong and independent. In addition the superior man will contain a steal conscience. This conscience will allow the chosen man ...