does not exhaust them
nobody grows rich or poor anymore
both are too much of a burden
who still wants to rule
who obey
both are too much of a burden for the last man
everything and anything that requires effort is a burden
and nietzsche feared that we would become a population of last men
so in love with comfort
leisure and entertainment
that progress itself would be felt as a burden
so if you value pleasure and comfort above everything else
you will inevitably lose your highest potential and become a last man
this idea is captured nicely in a fable by aesop all summer
a grasshopper spends his time singing
dancing and enjoying the sun
meanwhile the ants are hard at work
storing up food for the winter
the grasshopper looks down on the ants and says these ants work too much
and don't know how to enjoy life
then he lies back and takes a nap
he continues this routine all summer
but eventually winter rolls around
the grasshopper
realizes that he has no food stored up for the winter
and he goes to the ants and begs
please share some of your food with me
you looked down on us and didn't want to help us all summer now
why don't you see how much all of that dancing and singing helps you this winter
the ants turn their back on the grasshopper and walk away
this fable perfectly illustrates a timeless condition of humanity