Re: The Right of Nations to Self Determi

[jwalker <jwalker@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 4 Aug 1995 om@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
>  Right! ...and, ideally, a state is what a nation invents to formalize and
> protect its Right to Self Determination. In the world, there are around 900
> ethnic minorities, "nations". It is interesting to compare that to the
> number of states, which is around 200 - and decreasing!
>
>
> Comments anybody?
>
> Otto Medin
>

Otto,

I think I agree with you here, except for the "ideally".  The unity of
nation and state used to be held up as an ideal much more than it is
these days.  I think this is a good thing, because the nation-state ideal
seems to me to buy in to a certain sort of chauvanism, a certain
misconception of human needs and interests.

Thinking states ought to coincide with nations supposes that people who
are aren't culturally similar can't live together optimally, and so
shouldn't try.  Certainly not correct from a Marxist perspective!

It also supposes that homogeneity
is a good-making feature of a state, which I think is pernicious.




John D. Walker
jwalker@xxxxxxxxxxxxx



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