Neo-Nationalism or Blut und Boden

Looking for an illustration for this blog, I discovered the following Internet page:

Click for enlargement (©Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.)

Following the racial and national monstrosities of the Nazis, leading to the most murderous war in history, Red Baron thought that nations had overcome this phase of human aberrations. Not at all. This time I am not referring to the Ukrainian war but to a reorientation of countries to nationalism. 

White Supremacy not only shall make America great again, but Victor Orban's recent runaway election victory in Hungary and France Marine Le Pen's current election campaign to destroy European integration share all the aversion to immigrants and a mythical exaggeration of the connection between the native soil and its inhabitants. 

Foreigners and their influence shall remain outside as long as financial goodies are not touched. International cooperation and European integration are shackles from which one must free oneself so that the own nation can achieve true greatness.

Argumentation is governed by feelings instead of reason. Neo-nationalism has no anchoring in reality, for it offers no viable answers to global challenges like hunger, flight and displacement, climate change, pandemics, inflation, and debt crises. It does not recognize all the interdependencies and problems that do not stop at the border. 

Nationalism is fueling conflicts instead. The talk of allegedly regaining national sovereignty in a networked world is just a story to help its mongers to convert the state into a self-service store.

Neo-nationalism is attractive for it stokes the emotions of an exaggerated patriotism that eventually leads to racism. In Germany's past, the Nazis strengthened the we-feeling that many citizens still long for. 

In many modern societies, these atavistic sentiments are revived and accompanied by whispers of final battles in which one's own people will either triumph or perish. Even the tale of a global Jewish conspiracy by citing the Elders of Zion raises its head again.

Neo-nationalism is dangerous. Can the liberal West stand up against it?

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