ABSTRACT
Nationalism and modern economic development are twins. They were both born out of the Enlightenment. They are the two most important features of the modern world. Indeed, more than any other features of modernity, they are the defining characteristics of modernity. Nationalism promises political and social progress for the masses. It is an ideology. It is an ideology that is wedded to at least one other ideology. The other ideologies to which it is joined at the hip are also products of the Enlightenment. The Moderate Enlightenment model is based on reaching a political consensus in which the masses participate but ultimately policy emanates from ongoing debates within an elite group. It is simultaneously elitist and mass oriented. The Radical Enlightenment model is in principle committed to mass policy making, representative government serving to express the views of the masses themselves. In principle democracy is more deeply entrenched in the radical model than in the moderate model. In practice they do not differ greatly from one another. We can lump them together if we like, describing them both as variants of civic nationalism. The third ideology to burst forth from the Enlightenment is the CounterEnlightenment. It is the basis for totalitarianism whether it takes the form of Fascism or its mirror image Communism. Personality cults are another variant. The idea in all of these forms is the separation of the state from the voice of the people. The voice of the people is expressed by the eponymous party of the people. For instance, it might be the Nazi Party in Germany, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Chinese Communist Party, the Yugoslavian Communist Party, the Fascist Party in Italy, and so forth. Characteristic of this form of nationalism is parallelism: state institutions are paralleled by party institutions. The two hierarchies synchronize with one another. In short, nationalism takes on specific forms that I call nation-state branding. As described here nation-state branding tends to fall into the three distinct groups whose relative values as ways to achieve progress for the masses were deeply discussed and disputed during the Enlightenment. It must never be forgotten that ideology is about belief. As humans who once were hunter and gatherers, foragers on the face of the earth, we are hardwired to believe. Our beliefs may not be grounded in reality. But still we believe.
