NM's blog

“The origins of nationalism lay not in the folk, nor in the individual's repressed passion for some sort of wholeness or identity, but in the machinery of world political economy.” Where do we find an elaboration on that? You can find an exact, word-for-word elaboration of that quote in  Tom Nairn’s classic 1975 essay,  “ The Modern Janus” , published in the  New Left Review .  [1, 2, 3, 4]  Nairn later integrated and expanded this thesis into his foundational 1977 book,  The Break-up of Britain: Crisis and Neo-Nationalism .  [5, 6, 7]  Nairn's text provides a specific structural framework that elaborates on how the global economy—rather than romantic ideas of "the folk"—manufactured modern nationalism: 1. The Core Argument: The Uneven Development of Capitalism Nairn rejects the romantic view that nationalism naturally bubbles up from ethnic roots or a psychological need for belonging. Instead, he argues that nationalism was a structural byproduct...

A selection from a long interview The most productive way to understand fascism —an approach that allows us to think about both historical fascisms and twenty-first-century neo-fascisms — is to start with fascism’s social and political project, which stems from its worldview (rather than a doctrine  per se ). This ideological core is what endures, despite the different strategies used, which represent forms of adaptation to the particular and changing political circumstances and cultural contexts.  This worldview can be encapsulated in a set of elements which are in ways also articulated with each other: An obsession with decline, decadence and the decomposition of a community considered to be organic and fixed … A civilisational and/or racial paranoia that makes it possible to connect this decline to the presence on ‘our’ soil of immigrants, minorities and groups considered fundamentally alien… Hatred of equality and of all movements that push for it… The idea that a national...

On 'illegal migrants', migration and Muslims Harry Riley Ned Ma  the scum get fed in the hotels Ned Ma Harry Riley  I don't consider them the scum. The scum ar those who have plundered the country of tens if not hundereds of billions, tax havens scum, mafia money through the City … the scum are those who wrecked the economy in 2008/09, who pay a woman at HSBC 42% less than a man, a nurse hundreds of times less than a tv presenter or a footballer… the scum (the criminals) are those who have contributed to mass migration in the world, the scum are those who are welcomed, dined and wined by other scums in Downing Street ….have you ever protested or rioted against that? Have ever read the figures about what how much immigrants contribute to the evonomy vs. what they take? Kenneth: Farage is a millionaire. He will make sure the rich keep getting richer. If you're a council or private tenant expect to be hammered. He won't tax the rich and landed gentry will he. So who do...