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 Scott2. Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson3. The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau4. The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt5. The Open Society by Karl Popper