What seems to me the big flaw in the ethno-nationalist enthusiasts is that they consider civic nationalism a sort of flimsy ideology or utopia trumped by historical facts that supposedly show that ethnicity and ethnic culture is the real glue in societies and the only glue that is durable. Problem with these assumptions:Simple Minded wrote:The flux and the filters fascinate me. “There are 300+ million other people in “our” country, many of whom disagree with me. The American experiment is not working! “
1. Ethnicity never is really homogeneous; there are physical and sub-cultural differences within ethnic groups. In fact, there are always all sorts of differences within any group.
2. Within any group conflicts of sorts can, and do erupt. Especially conflicts in groups that have a close kinship and compete in the same space. Just some examples. In southern Italy, where by any measure the people are ethnically and culturally very similar, different mobster gangs are continually at each others throat. The history of Western Europe, supposedly a nice collection of ethnically white folks, is one of enduring conflicts, wars, genocides. Black Africans selling other black Africans to slave traders. The list is of course... endless.
It is true that ethnic-cultural ties can be strong and organic, but they can not by any historical evidence be considered a good, let alone the best anti-dote to violence nor the most enduring glue that can hold societies together.
I would argue that the strongest glue historically and in half of the world today are totalitarian top-down societies with a dictator (or class) at the top. The reason that these dictatorships are quickly running out of steam and disappearing is because the world has become one open market of interdependent economies, of emerging democracies, better education on average, the scientific and technological revolution, women's rights and so on. Everything starts to mix as never before, included people with different levels of melatonin in their skins; the latter being the lowest denominator of all things that make a difference these days.
The country where all this modern mixing is strongest and for almost two centuries going on is now the world no.1 super power, and a country most people in the world would still love to go to and live the rest of their lives. The claim by Blond that "it is not working" is just too silly for words. And the dream of going back to some ethnically pure nationalism that never proved to be a guarantee for anything...most likely will turn into a nightmare, half of which the result of unintended consequences.