What Exactly is Nationalism?

[Bostana]

What is it? And how is it bad?

[Tim Cornelis]

Nationalism calls for the preservation, extension, and/or strengthening of the nation-state. It is bad as communism strives to unite people across borders and abolish the nation-state.

[GoddessCleoLover]

In extremely brief terms, nationalism was a form of bourgeois ideology that arise in the late Middle Ages in opposition to feudal kingdoms and empires. For example, Machiavelli's THE PRINCE was essentially a work that called for the development of an Italian nationalism. As of today, it is "bad" because these are no longer the Middle Ages and nationalism tends to provide political cover for international capitalism. We seek an international movement of the worker classes against international capital, hence also against the bourgeois nation-state.

[Dogs On Acid]

Left-Wing Nationalism seems to have a more patriotic that nationalist feel. It seeks to do away with invading oppressors to what the revolutionaries call their "homeland". Bourgeois Nationalism, on the other hand, is exactly what Goti123 said.

[Comrade Samuel]

“Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it.” -George Bernard Shaw

Substitute "patriotism" with "nationalism" and you've got your awnswer. (the two words are pretty much synonymous)

[Rooster]

Left wing nationalism doesn't seem to make much sense either these days. Might have been progressive decades ago when nation states were still holding back the productive forces but in this age of imperialism, nation states are regressive. Capital seeks to do away with nation states as effective organisations of power. So you have neo-liberalism coming in and making states more adjusted to open exploitation and you have the attempted weakening of states in the more exploitative nations in order to suppress their own populations. Trying to build a strong, independent nation, seems regressive in this sense. What country can stand up to the power of international capital and places like US which have unlimited militaristic power? It might make sense if you were wanting to weaken nation states as well, such as the break up of the US or the UK or the regions in Russia and China because the fact of the matter is that capital is completely international now so these nation things don't make much sense. The communist movement really has to elevate itself now to a much more international level such as a pan-European party. I can't seen how an independent country like say... Nepal or Ireland... can withstand international capital.

[Rafiq]

We don't oppose nationalism because we want all peoples to hold hands (well, we do abstractly), we oppose it because today, it is inherently bourgeois, and adheres to bourgeois thought. The nation serves no purpose in forfilling the demands of the proletariat. We as materialists see it useless to retain the nation, as it has changed forever.

[Brosip Tito]

Pride in one's nationality, believing it is superior to other nationalities -- putting your own nationality ahead of the international community. This is exemplified most in the likes of Fascism, neoconservative war rallying, socialism in one country, and the idea in the "right of all nations to self determination".

Anti-internationalism is prevalent in all of these ideas. We need to fight against these ideals, and we need to maintain that the Canadian is just as important as the Egyptian worker. The South African is just as important as the Indonesian worker.

National liberation struggles, which are almost always nationalist in nature, need to be evaluated each on their own. Some, such as Quebec Separatism is damaging to internationalism, whilst the Palestine question is important.