Is The Concept of Having "Countries" Dying out??

Is it just me or do any other people here think the concept of having countries starting to become out of date a bit??

I just don't feel people are as nationalistic anywhere as they used to be, not even 5-10 years ago, the world is becoming much more globalised & racially tolerant, and is less interested in holding onto its traditions incase it's deemed as racism. The youth of today are much more racially tolerant, don't seem as interested in preserving nationalism, mainly because there not growing up with any in the first place. I don't really feel the youth today are of the same "we won the war" "rule britannia" lot that the older generation are. There more the "Obama generation", that reflects current levels globalisation and racial tolerance.

I recognise the polls on an "EU Supersate", "immigration" on here, and the support is increasingly higher for each time I look at them it seems. I mean most people I know support socialism, support globalisation and don't feel British or English as much the average England footy fan does. I was talking to one of my friends about the world cup and England and said he would "never support" England as he doesn't believe in the concept of countries (this is what drove me to make this thread).

Do people feel as nationalistic as ever still or is there some truth in my post that nationalism is dying out and that we're going to live as "one" eventually?

yeah, thank ****

The middle east war-monger with each other and the rest of the world. The US war-mongers with the middle-east and ostricises it's closest neighbours. The island states have very well-defined boundaries and as such are well-defined countries. Communist countries wouldn't dream of being open. Each country in Europe makes fun of each other country in Europe, and a significant portion of countries in Africa are in turmoil with corrupt governments and feuds. Not to mention the whole India-Pakistan thing.

I'd say countries are going to be pretty well-defined for a fair while.

Reply 3

chidona

15

I wish.
The concept of national boundaries isn't dying out, and never will do unfortunately.

Reply 4

Lefty Leo

10

Maybe for Europe, the first continent to really liberalise.

Give it time. I bet within a century people won't care what passport you have :smile:

Reply 5

Fusilero

14

The idea of a nation state is probably the weakest it's been at since pre-antiquity, but it's still pretty strong.

Reply 6

PGtips92

12

Sharpshooter

I mean most people I know support socialism

Where do you live?

Reply 7

UNICO

No, definitely not. We're nowhere near as globalised as people make out; before there used to be one currency to mark by; the gold standard. We don't have that anymore. There never used to be passports, and migration was free and easy; certainly not the case anymore.

Reply 8

Hashshashin

13

Realistically it's a long way away, but it's certainly something I feel we should aim towards.

Reply 9

Morten

Convervatism is on the rise all over Europe, sadly. Though nationalism is nonsense, it seems to be experiencing an increase in popularity these days and whether it is a lasting change, or just a convulsion in an overall downwards trend, remains to be seen. Such convulsions are to be expected as we become increasingly globalized - what I fear, is that this rising conservatism in the western world will actually reverse the trend towards globalization, though I don't see how that will be accomplished.

At any rate, it will be a long time before we will be able to put the concept to rest.

Reply 10

QwentyJ

14

I like countries! :smile:

Reply 11

rajandkwameali

2

it depends. Countries and nations aren't the same as nations. Look, even our country is a collection of different nations. The English, Welsh, Scots and Northern Irish all have different traditional cultures, even if on a day to day basis we live the same way.

I think the idea of a nation-state exists since humans are tribal and live in groups. Even before modern nation-states, tribes would mark out what their territory was. Even animals do it. Chimpanzees and wolves are territorial, just as humans are.

Reply 12

punktopia

3

It'd be great if it was. Who needs countries anyway?

Reply 13

wig

A European state is one major war away.

Reply 14

Morten

rajandkwameali

it depends. Countries and nations aren't the same as nations. Look, even our country is a collection of different nations. The English, Welsh, Scots and Northern Irish all have different traditional cultures, even if on a day to day basis we live the same way.

I think the idea of a nation-state exists since humans are tribal and live in groups. Even before modern nation-states, tribes would mark out what their territory was. Even animals do it. Chimpanzees and wolves are territorial, just as humans are.

The nation-state cannot be equated to tribal society, which is (was) much more flexible. The problem with the nation is that it is largely arbitrarily defined, and is by nature more exclusive than the tribe. Case in point (since my knowledge is very limited on the subject): the ancient Roman (pre-imperial) tribal system, that willingly added new tribes as needed.

Anyway, I don't think that our natural tendencies, biological inclinations etc. constitutes a satisfying defence of the nation-state, or anything else for that matter. We have progressed intellectually and culturally to a point where we are able to do away with the concept, and we should, if we deem it beneficial.
Whether or not it is beneficial is a much more complicated matter.

Reply 15

justkillingtime

Morten

The nation-state cannot be equated to tribal society, which is (was) much more flexible. The problem with the nation is that it is largely arbitrarily defined, and is by nature more exclusive than the tribe. Case in point (since my knowledge is very limited on the subject): the ancient Roman (pre-imperial) tribal system, that willingly added new tribes as needed.

Anyway, I don't think that our natural tendencies, biological inclinations etc. constitutes a satisfying defence of the nation-state, or anything else for that matter. We have progressed intellectually and culturally to a point where we are able to do away with the concept, and we should, if we deem it beneficial.
Whether or not it is beneficial is a much more complicated matter.

Lmao, what a load of pseudo-intellectual crap.

More exclusive? I think you'll find that you can go to just about any country in the world and become a legal citizen, with claim to the same status and rights as every other citizen in the society.

But do you think you can fly over to Africa, and become a Zulu? Or a Masai? Do you think the ancient Anglo Saxons and the Picts would have been "more flexible" with each other?

Reply 16

Morten

justkillingtime

Lmao, what a load of pseudo-intellectual crap.

More exclusive? I think you'll find that you can go to just about any country in the world and become a legal citizen, with claim to the same status and rights as every other citizen in the society.

But do you think you can fly over to Africa, and become a Zulu? Or a Masai? Do you think the ancient Anglo Saxons and the Picts would have been "more flexible" with each other?

I wasn't talking about ease of mobility. You argued that nations are naturally occurring because tribes were naturally occuring. In the first part of my post I tried to argue that the tribal system is sufficiently different from the nation, that we cannot say "we have countries, because we live in tribes" - the quotation marks are not meant to mock.
And regarding the pseudo-intellectuality, I do concede that. The first part of my post was weakly written, excuse me. I am still getting back into writing in english after a couple of years away from school.

Reply 17

faber niger

17

Far from it. It could eventually though.

Reply 18

Good bloke

19

Those people who want open borders and complete freedom to live where you wish will have good reason over the coming decades to be grateful for the fact that they live on an island in a temperate zone and in a rich country with strong political infrastructure. As populations seek to move around to avoid the effects of global warming, overpopulation, religious zealotry and corrupt governments, you might be glad you are able to prove your right to live in the UK and that others can be kept out.

Reply 19

jakemittle

17

I like countries!..lets keep countries!...its something that can give us identity!...It probably will, I mean, it seems with the Lisbon Treaty that it will essentally make Europe like a country :P But, I want all this merging stuff to be after I'm gone :yes:

Is The Concept of Having "Countries" Dying out??

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