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roachboy · 04-27-2005, 09:55 AM

problem with the above include:
in a globalizing capitalist context, the notion of a "strong national government" is becoming increasinglyu problematic. to see among the furthest extensions of this, look at the eu---much policy-setting that was once the pourview of nation-states has been transferred to the metanational level--creating all kinds of problems, not least of which is that these metanational institutions are no directly accountable to the population in any coherent way. nationalism, in its 19th form, has already taken quite a beating there, particularly in france, where you get a kind of collapse into an incoherent center of the main political parties, "left" and right, a kind of floating residuum of the oplder left, and the rise of a kind of neofascist position that argues the nation has to be understood as essential, as the privileged center for collective modes of articulation/identification/discourse, that this nation is defined by/around "real" french or "real" americans, who in turn use this category to marginalize another--in france, the main target is islam. but this whole move is fundamentally reactive and ultimately--there as in the states--will implode, and this most likely as a result of incompetence (thos you could see it as a matter of zeitgeist).

the interesting-ish twist is that if you reverse the polarity of the above description (sitting in the states, talking about france to using a grod based on french politics to classify american options) you arrive at the sad fact that both major political parties would be understood as essentially neofascist insofar as this aspect of their ideology was concerned--the republicans and those folk to their right explicitly so. might give you pause when you talk about nationalism as an eternal Truth, as something with an essence that is not effected by history, a history which is made by people and not by the unfolding of some Form.

04-27-2005, 09:55 AM	#17 (permalink)
roachboy Super Moderator Location: essex ma	problem with the above include: in a globalizing capitalist context, the notion of a "strong national government" is becoming increasinglyu problematic. to see among the furthest extensions of this, look at the eu---much policy-setting that was once the pourview of nation-states has been transferred to the metanational level--creating all kinds of problems, not least of which is that these metanational institutions are no directly accountable to the population in any coherent way. nationalism, in its 19th form, has already taken quite a beating there, particularly in france, where you get a kind of collapse into an incoherent center of the main political parties, "left" and right, a kind of floating residuum of the oplder left, and the rise of a kind of neofascist position that argues the nation has to be understood as essential, as the privileged center for collective modes of articulation/identification/discourse, that this nation is defined by/around "real" french or "real" americans, who in turn use this category to marginalize another--in france, the main target is islam. but this whole move is fundamentally reactive and ultimately--there as in the states--will implode, and this most likely as a result of incompetence (thos you could see it as a matter of zeitgeist). the interesting-ish twist is that if you reverse the polarity of the above description (sitting in the states, talking about france to using a grod based on french politics to classify american options) you arrive at the sad fact that both major political parties would be understood as essentially neofascist insofar as this aspect of their ideology was concerned--the republicans and those folk to their right explicitly so. might give you pause when you talk about nationalism as an eternal Truth, as something with an essence that is not effected by history, a history which is made by people and not by the unfolding of some Form. __________________ a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite