Nationalism/tribalism/collectivism. The idea that this is some sort of modern invention seems entirely counter-intuitive to me. How was it that this gathered momentum? It could be that "nations" will not disappear but rather that our idea of "nations" will expand. Meaning that instead of being "an American," people will begin identifying themselves as being a "westerner," etc. My guess is that theadvancedapes would confirm that our primate relatives also prefer apes that "look, act and communicate" like they do. It would seem to be an evolutionary safeguard. This evolutionary safeguard is at the foundation of many of our conflicts on both the world stage and in interpersonal communications. It touches everything. edit: Interesting tidbit about your daughter mpoe. I too have a young daughter and I wonder how I'll feel once she starts getting the "ism's" taught to her. I have family from germany and mexico and on both sides they've mentioned that the US has more flags all over the place than any other country they've visited. They become so commonplace that we don't often recognize them, but if you make a concerted effort, you'll notice they're everywhere. I've always liked the John Lennon quote "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Seems appropriate given this topic. Great interview, as always.Gat musters a significant amount of evidence suggesting that humans are more-or-less hardwired for kin and ethnic preference–we’ve always liked people who look, talk and act like “us” more than “strangers” because we are built to do so. We didn’t “invent” the nation; it was–and remains–in us.
"How was it that this gathered momentum?" The answer has to do with the persistance of Marxism (in the academy). Marx thought nations were a product of recent history. He said they would disappear. Marxists believed this, but there was a problem: nations weren't disappearing. So instead of facing the fact that nations are ancient and very, very persistant, Marxist began to investigate when they (supposedly) appeared to show that they were temporary. It they were "invented" recently, then maybe they would disappear sometime soon. No surprise that they found what they were looking for--"imagined communities."
Yes, that is correct. At first it was thought that this was a product of kin selection. However, recent research seems to suggest this is group selection at work. Therefore, there were likely strong selection pressures for in-group/out-group identification.