Mankind
Quarterly, Vol. 44, Nos. 3 & 4 (Spring-Summer 2004)
pp.
403-418
The Misuse of
the Term "Nation State".
Roger Pearson
The author argues that the clarity
of discourse is lost by the misuse of the terms "nation"
and "nation state," attributable to ignorance
of the evolutionary history of human society. He maintains
that human social organization evolved from pairbonding
and the family, and thence through an elaboration
of kinship ties to the emergence of larger societies
that were relatively homogeneous, both genetically
and culturally, and which are properly known as nations.
The term "nation-state," originally devised
to refer to a nation that enjoyed a degree of self-government
and political autonomy, has increasingly come to be
used in recent decades to describe any geographically
delineated political aggregate of individuals living,
willingly or unwillingly, under a common government
- no matter how varied their biological origins, culture
or personal value systems. He regards this terminological
misuse as a significant affront to clarity of thought
because societies which are united by common values
and a belief in common, shared origins, are more able
to live together in harmony and to be willing to sacrifice
personal interest for each other's good than those
which lack such unifying sentiments.
