The, Us And Them : The Enduring Power Of Ethnic Nationalism

Reading Jerry Muller’s "Us and them: The enduring power of ethnic nationalism" Foreign Affairs 2008, against Michael Ignatieff’s "A cosmopolitan among the true believers" Harpers March 1994. Made me think who is really right about nationalism, the wanting to belong how it affects the world as a whole. So before we can get to whose wrong whose right, or if there is a definitive distinction really, I have to give you an idea of what the articles are about. So you can understand my comparison.

Jerry Muller’s "Us and them: The enduring power of ethnic nationalism" Foreign Affairs was an interesting article. But it lacked simplicity in the fact it repeated too much of the same idea over and over, now I get the idea is to prove the point of his theory that the more similar the population’s ethnicities are alike the less likely they are to fight. It went on for several long pages of the idea that ethnic nationalism wasn’t the destructive force, it was the cause a result of it, a way of forming borders. Which isn’t wrong it’s like the way of looking at guns, Guns don’t kill people, People with guns kill people. So it is looking at ethnic nationalism like, people with different Ethics don’t harm/kill people, People who come in contact and live around people with different ethic kill people, with a class example of Jerusalem with war of fighting over that piece of land spanning centuries, because two ethnic groups have contested claims on the Holy land, and both are willing to take fight for their religious land of the holy (Muller, 5). Now it doesn’t discuss religion in that sense the author just uses this case to solidify his point to make is even more concrete that, If a group of ethnically similar people are together, things will be goo...

... middle of paper ...

...know which side, right now, is winning.” (Ignatieff, 4) that is the most agreeable statement that lies in both articles together. It makes it right because of its lack of a suggestion of a solution a way to cure it. Because logically there is none, you can’t make people become comfortable with imposing ethnic groups once they have comforts established. If we had all been interactive with all the world’s people from the very start, this may be a non-existent term. But I believe in the future as technology opens the world market and people become more open minded we will be able to accept out ethnic groups, and understand, and because I read and learned from the wise words of these two men.

In conclusion; I summarized the articles depicting ethnic nationalism, and compared them, showing my belief of the solution to this cycle of Like attracts like and opposites hate.