PSC 3304 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Primordialism, Ernest Gellner
17 Feb 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Taxing: important as a coercion proxy, to identify boundaries of states - taxable areas. You need to create a bureaucracy to keep track of people. Bureaucrats should treat us indifferently; follow rules. Nation: non-territorial, person-to-person (horizontal), voluntary, shared destiny. Common will to exist in unified form. Understanding of boundaries (know difference between us and them ) Two different approaches to where nations come from (1) primordialism (anthony smith) Nation emerges (18th, 19th century) out of pre-existing ethnic core that traces back centuries. Traceable histories of people groups as ancient nations . National consciousness - gradual awareness under influences of great writers/poets (2) non-primordialism/constructivism (rehan) Nationalism is product of our imagination; myth-based solidarity. Connection between current past; dark/golden parts of past. Group effort to strive for golden future. Every day we choose to live, same applies to nations. Religion lifts up a nation; not a substitute for nation. Assimilation very important to formation/success of nation.
