Of course something else to add into the mix is the role globalisation plays.in things. As Dani Rodrik says, it's hard to have more globalisation without giving up one of either nationalism or democracy. We're seeing that play out now with a backlash of sorts against a 'global elite' in favour of national sovereignty. Even if you think globalisation is a bad thing though (which I don't in the slightest), it's a genie that will be hard to put back into the bottle. The more global society becomes, then the more natural it is to have shared rules to ensure the global system works effectively. To a large extent the EU was a manifestation of that.
It's interesting though as cultural identity plays a big part. In a practical sense, the EU is not that different in size to the US, and I'd say the 28 nations of the EU have much more power and sovereignty than the 50 states of the USA, yet we've had a backlash against the EU at the same time as nationalism in the US.
Wider discussion to be had over nationalism - and what
actually constitutes a nation state.
Liberty needs to be at the forefront of every choice we the people make.
Part of that is defending the principle of democracy, and its ability to achieve positive socioeconomic change, whilst also understanding its very obvious flaws and how best to mitigate them.
One of the fundamental issues we have is a cultural malaise. We no longer believe in education as a means of improving ourselves, we have become far more influenced by the temptations of materialism - and all of the short term enjoyment it gives. We no longer cast an analytical eye over issues, instead those in charge of asking these questions opt for sensationalism as it better buys into the inheret humanistic nature of tribalism - and with that comes the clicks, and the subsequent advertising revenue.
Take the recent reporting of Labour's internal anti-Semitism policies. The press widely reported that, under the new guidelines, it was acceptable for a Labour Party member to question a Jewish individuals allegiances to Britain. This was a blatent lie, and is easily disproven by reading the NEC report (obtainable by a simple Google search).
However as it both generates a wider sense of interest and provides a useful tool to use against the interests of the party and its political tendencies - it has been reported numerous times - despite having zero truth to it.
I know this is a single point, but it further proves my argument about people being unwilling to cast any sort of analytical thought to an issue, leaving to a situation in which the realities are ignored.
