Ovi Magazine Issue #24: Nationalism - Published: 2013-01-31

Theme
Prof. Lawrence Nannery
The Incoherences
of Nationalism
1. Nationalism is a concept that, within proper
limits, is true, but outside those limits, untrue,
and the source of half the world’s conflicts.
2. Nationalism reduces the citizen to his or her
natural characteristics, and looks inward.
3. Nationalism is, like most religions, apt to get
out of hand, overstep its own boundaries and
ruin its own proper community.
4. In the current system of nation-states,
Nationalism tends to small-mindedness and
prejudice.
5. On the other side, Nationalism is unavoidable,
since pride in one’s “people” is natural and
inevitable.
6. The conclusion is that Nationalism can never be
overcome completely, for it is part of the
human condition.
Nationalism is such a large topic,
such a vague topic, and so
dependent upon events that I must
limit myself in this essay to a few
fundamentals.
The word “nation” derives from the Latin
verb nascor, natus, whose first meaning is “to be
born” or “to be begotten”. One does not come
into this world without belonging to the group
that engendered you. In her book, The Human
Condition (Vita Activa), Hannah Arendt tells us all
this at greater length.
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Nationalism is ineradicable, because one belongs
to a group of humans of the same nationality,
without choosing it or applying for it. Everyone
in the world is a member of some group that is
consanguineous. One can also belong to groups
that are said to be consanguineous, but are really
socially constructed. Since the true blood relation
is much more common, it usually is functionally
much more emotionally powerful than other social
relations.