[lbo-talk] Definition of nation (was as if on cue)

[Wendy Lyon]

On 3 February 2011 16:44, Somebody Somebody <philos_case at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Somebody: As strong as ever? Until a generation ago, there was still a militarized division of the continent. For all of European history until the current epoch war was part of life, now it's a virtual impossibility for the foreseeable future.
>
> I think it's easy to dismiss the historical significance of the European Union. From a world historical standpoint, despite the problems of monetary union and continued albeit much attenuated national rivalries, it's already a success. A nationalism that expresses itself by sending far-right representatives to the European Parliament isn't much of a nationalism at all.

You're conflating national identity with other things. A strong
national identity *can* manifest itself in aggressive warfare or
far-right politics but there's no reason it has to and that is
certainly not what I was referring to. Ireland for one has never
started any war unrelated to its struggle against colonialism, and
far-right politics doesn't exist here, but if you ask the average
Irish person what their national identity is, they'll tell you
"Irish". Not "European".

I mean nobody does national identity like the Canadians, and they're
not going around starting fascist invasions, are they?