Civilization #58: Birth of the Nation-State

Nationalism is the main cause of World War One. How and why did it originate? In this talk to his Beijing high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that nationalism was a response to religious, economic, and cultural challenges in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Protestant Reformation produced a crisis of faith in people, and many made the nation-state into their new religion. The Industrial Revolution made the bourgeoisie the new dominant elite, and they demanded property rights that only the nation-state could guarantee. Rapid industrialization and urbanization caused alienation and disorientation, which led people to embrace the nation-state for community and direction. References: 1. Seeing Like a State by James Scott 2. Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson 3. The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau 4. The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt 5. The Open Society by Karl Popper