2 februari 2021

After the victory of liberalism in 1989 the world changed in one open space. People who did not feel at home in this new environment experienced these developments as a chaos organised by a progressive elite. These people were in need of a Structure that would protect and defend them and in which they could enjoy their freedom.

Some harked back to old distinctions in which racism and old religious categories played a key role. Rigid definitions of good and evil; concepts like guilt and penance and blind submission to divine authority; the importance of the traditional family and the patriarchical axis. All these concepts from the past were polished up as a reaction to the universalist philosophy.

In this essay we defend the nation state as a modern alternative for the universalist philosophy and for a reactionary escape to old solutions. The nation state, which is based on the linguistic homogeneity of the nation, forms the horizon in which the West realised two of its major successes: the liberal democracy and the wellfare state. Also in the globalized world the nation state will remain the reference point par excellence.

“Blinded by universalism” builds further on the ideas which we developed earlier in “Liberal Quicksand”.