pride - nationalism
by on may 1, 2003, 00:49
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pride is one of those sins that many of us have already rationalised into a virtue. however the opposing virtue to pride is, in fact, humility, i.e. the ability to see ourselves as we are without comparison to others. pride along with vanity are competitive traits which ultimately give birth to imperialism, prejudice, conflict and football hooliganism.
the late elie kedourie, a political philsopher, made the argument that nationalism was essentially a european phenomenon, carried around the world by colonial circumstances. this was followed by media visionary marshall mcluhan who derived nationalism from the introduction of the print-based information technologies - whose economies of scale demand homogenous spelling, grammer and vocabulary, inevitably producing a sense of nationhood. the point being that the spread of print technology enabled an enormous number people to 'know' one another indirectly with the printing presses acting as middlemen to the imagination or conscience of society.
other boffins, that know, see nationalism as the work of elites, trying to protect their advantages whilst preserving customary practices. left wing historian eric hobsbawn carries the theme further by suggesting that nationalist movements emerge from 'middle peasants' seeking to preserve a threatened way of life and therefore their own advantage.
interesting then, at a time of cultural convergence, that far right groups such as the british national party target areas of disillusioned white working class communities in the uk emphasizing that their manifesto is about being proud to be british rather than the racist.
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