Friday, March 14, 2008

Yahia Lababidi, writer

Wars are the side-effects of nationalism. -Yahia Lababidi, writer (b. 1973)

This is definitely not true. Wars were part of history long before nationalism. I have some sympathy for the sentiment that lies behind this statement, which I take to be the view that nationalism can lead to unnecessary strife and destruction among peoples, but the statement is still not true. And I would not say, as I think Lababidi probably would, that nationalism is completely mistaken or even evil, but rather that it is becoming increasingly anachronistic.

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