Nationalism vs. Globalism: The Better of Two Evils?

There are two sides to every story. On one hand, economic nationalism and state-run economies are burdened by historical tragedies: the ethnonationalism of Nazi Germany or the democratically-weak planned economy of Soviet Russia.

On the other hand, the U.S. market-oriented reform policies which have eliminated price controls, deregulated capital markets, lowered trade barriers, and reduced state influence (especially through privatization and austerity) have also become the object of criticism. Following the collapse of the USSR, we find ourselves resonating with stories which tell of a liberation for a global market, such that the legislative powers of government had become a mere auxiliary. Taking the words of French philosopher Étienne Balibar as testimony, we understand that the legislative powers of state had devolved “from a protective function to a function of destruction of its own civil society”. A destruction “not in the ‘totalitarian’ form, but in the ‘utilitarian’ form, which is hardly less violent”. And although these passages come to us by way of Balibar’s essay, Our European Incapacity, it is not hard for us to extend his concerns to any state subjected to federal structures in service to market demands. It should be obvious, this includes the U.S., especially.

At this Meet Up, we will consider the nationalist narrative. The question of our event is this: can nationalism re-animate our democratic institutions and save us from the “utilitarian state”?