I have a simple, possibly impolite thesis: the “nation” is a beautiful story we tell to coordinate strangers, and loud nationalism is what people reach for when the story stops paying their bills. Nations are not ancient tribes waking from deep time; they are recent inventions—clever ones—that industrial print, schools, and armies stitched together so we would feel kinship with people we will never meet. That is not an insult; … Read the rest
By Eric Le Roy
Content 21+ Artem’s recent article “Borders, Bogeymen, and Billion Dollar Boosts” deserves a thorough response. I say this because in many areas his reasoning is beyond reproach and his data irrefutable. If I may presume to put a few words into his mouth (for what follows is neither a quote nor a paraphrase), I would say that the thesis of one aspect of his essay … Read the rest
Content 18+ Immigration is a topic as charged with dynamite as it is with dynamism. I’d begin with the obvious irony: we’re all immigrants if you rewind history far enough. The United States, Germany, Hungary, Russia—all were shaped by people who packed their bags (or were forced to), crossed borders, and declared, “This looks promising!” before someone else grumbled, “Who invited you?” And thus, civilization marched on.
Imagine humanity as … Read the rest
