Superman

Raskolnikov's theory was illustrated through his work, Crime and Punishment, which we read during this unit.  One of the primary concepts of his Superman Theory is that the superman has the right to break laws as he sees fit.  As I read this I tried to think of people in our society who are supermen.  The first thought that came to my mind was government officials.  When there is a law in their way, they have the ability to change or shape that law for their own use.  The difference between the supermen of our society and the main character of Crime and Punishment is that we the people elect our officials, whereas Raskolnikov appointed himself.  The second group of people that came to mind were the infamous villains of our age, such as Hitler and Stalin.  They believed that they were in the right, and that they had the god given right to do as they saw fit.  These supermen were of course evil.  Then I thought of other government officials who broke the law as they saw fit, and immediately thought of Abraham Lincoln, who suspended Habeas Corpus during the Civil War so that the United States would be able to arrest those in the Union suspected of supporting the Confederacy.  This is an example of a superman who is considered to be one of the greatest presidents in our nation's history.  A character in literature who had the right to break (unjust) laws as he saw fit was Robin Hood.  Of course he got away with his crimes unlike the character of Crime and Punishment.  So I have to ask.....supermen...good or evil?