Resistance is Futile

Freedom is the ultimate utopia. It is common to here some reference to “if I just have more freedom.” People spend their lives imagining or envisioning what their life would be like if they had more freedom. They want freedom from almost everything, whether that means family, rules, authority, even the force of globalization. But is it really realistic? Is it realizable? John W. Meyer, John Boli, George M. Thomas, and Francisco O. Ramirez do not seem to think so, especially when it comes to the creation of nation-states. In their work “World Society and the Nation State” these authors argue that “the world-society models shape nation-state identities, structures, and behavior via worldwide cultural and associational processes.”

In the past few decades, it has become increasingly popular to create nation-states. These creators often flee from the traditional oppressive society in search of a society free from the homogeneous mold of the world. In fact, “more than 130 new nation-state entities have been formed since 1945.” All these people are clearly fleeing from something, but from what exactly still needs to be decided.

As these new nation-states explore a new set of rules that appear to break away from the traditional ones they were once obliged to follow, an ironic pattern seems to emerge. These nation-states become homogenous. They become exactly what they were fleeing from. The authors of the article state t hat “orientation to the identity and purposes of the nation-state model increases the rate at which countries adopt other prescribed institutions of modernity.” These nations are forced to comply with the set guidelines established by a higher power, often the UN. As they follow these rules, “the policies look more like enactments of conventionalized scripts. Even if a state proclaims its opposition to the dominant world identity models, it will nevertheless pursue many purposes within this model. It will develop bureaucratic, authority and attempt to build many modern institutions, ranging from a central bank to an educations system. It will thereby find itself modifying its traditions in the direction of world-cultural forms.” Unknowingly, these nation-states lose their uniqueness.

Resistance to the force of global rules is futile. “Resistance to world models is difficult because nation-sates are formally committed, as a matter of identity, to such self-evident goals as socioeconomic development, citizen rights, individual self-development, and civil international relations.” Essentially, “if a nation-state neglects to adopt world-approved policies, domestic elements will try to carry out or enforce conformity.”

In this light, there appears to be little incentive to become a nation-state. Who would willingly embrace a plan that inevitably bring he/she back to the start? These nation-states become the oppressors from which they were fleeing. The force of globalization is massive - so massive that it is futile to resist. There is nowhere to hide.