The central thesis of this paper is that Nietzsche developed a eugenical project, which he justified through Machiavellian considerations. By eugenics is meant a political ideology aiming at controlling reproduction to serve a normative image of man. The first part (I) tries to establish the historical relevance of this definition. I then argue in favor of the existence of a Nietzschean eugenics (II). This interpretation rests on published and posthumous texts, as well as on Nietzsche's eugenical sources, among which I focus contemporary writers without omitting Plato. Finally, the third part (III) brings to light a certain Machiavellism of Nietzsche's eugenics, according to which repressing one's pity would be needed in order to achieve a higher goal.
eugenics; biopolitics; Galton; Machiavellism