Pellinore
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- May 30, 2018
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Terms such as these have been around long before the modern system. "Nationalism" goes back centuries.
Nationalism, in a social science sense, is about more than just promoting your country's needs, it's about increasing your country's power at the expense of others. Applied to a group of people who are oppressed, it can be a powerful source to inspire their freedom, but in practice, when it is embraced by a group who is already in power, it becomes very dangerous, very quickly, inflicting more oppression onto the already oppressed. It is no coincidence that nationalism was one of the main causes of BOTH World Wars.
As for the more specific uses, remember that a nation (a social thing) is not the same thing as a country (a geographical thing), or a state or union (a political thing). A nation is a group of PEOPLE who all identify with a common characteristic, rather than a clump of land or a political entity. "White nationalism" therefore pushes for the white nation of people to have MORE power in society at the expense of non-whites, and "Christian nationalism" pushes for the same for self-described Christians.
And both white people and Christians are already the non-marginalized majorities in this county. "White nationalists" want white people to have more power, and non-whites to have less. "Christian nationalists" want the same for Christians, and the expense of the already-marginalized non-Christians.
The good news is that that means that some of you who are insisting you are "white nationalists" or "Christian nationalists" really might not be, because you didn't know what the term's meaning within social science really means. If you are, though, you are, and only you know for sure.
They weren't invented by modern leftists; they've been around longer than that. It is associated with the right-wing, though, because it pushes a hierarchy (nation on top, all others below) which is what the right wing is all about.
Nationalism, in a social science sense, is about more than just promoting your country's needs, it's about increasing your country's power at the expense of others. Applied to a group of people who are oppressed, it can be a powerful source to inspire their freedom, but in practice, when it is embraced by a group who is already in power, it becomes very dangerous, very quickly, inflicting more oppression onto the already oppressed. It is no coincidence that nationalism was one of the main causes of BOTH World Wars.
As for the more specific uses, remember that a nation (a social thing) is not the same thing as a country (a geographical thing), or a state or union (a political thing). A nation is a group of PEOPLE who all identify with a common characteristic, rather than a clump of land or a political entity. "White nationalism" therefore pushes for the white nation of people to have MORE power in society at the expense of non-whites, and "Christian nationalism" pushes for the same for self-described Christians.
And both white people and Christians are already the non-marginalized majorities in this county. "White nationalists" want white people to have more power, and non-whites to have less. "Christian nationalists" want the same for Christians, and the expense of the already-marginalized non-Christians.
The good news is that that means that some of you who are insisting you are "white nationalists" or "Christian nationalists" really might not be, because you didn't know what the term's meaning within social science really means. If you are, though, you are, and only you know for sure.
They weren't invented by modern leftists; they've been around longer than that. It is associated with the right-wing, though, because it pushes a hierarchy (nation on top, all others below) which is what the right wing is all about.