Nation States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nation States - Essay Example processing immediate and untrammeled power over a contiguous territory occupied, in theory, by a population homogenous in speech, culture, and ethnicity. (p. 2) Simply put, capitalism relies on nation-states to maintain local conditions favourable to a culture of capitalist accumulation as well as to help it navigate the economy. The nation state holds the power which assures the creation and reproduction of the capitalist mode of production through a combination of procedures and processes. Hence, the development of capitalism is largely dependent on the progress of the nation-state and the movements within. Depending on one’s standpoint, the role of nation-state in capitalism is either viewed positively or negatively. For instance, Marxist adherents argue that capitalism was an upshot of the English feudalism and that its evolution resulted to a social malady where the sector responsible for the production of goods is protected by the state, to the disadvantage of the labor and the populace in general. There are varying factors in the development of nation-states. Experiences vary from one country to another. For some, nationhood is achieved due to internal developments while for some; it was realized as a result of some crisis which could be external in nature. In the case of the former, it is attained when a movement has succeeded in mobilizing the masses around one common conception of nationhood; while for the latter, political sovereignty is achieved under extraordinary and short-lived circumstances arising from a regional or global crisis rather than strictly internal developments. (Roshwald p. 2) The existence of nation-states has noble objectives. This is what appeals to people within its territory. Constitutions of countries cite these lofty ideals and while there might be some variations, they all bespeak of one important concept and that is identity. According to Martha Cotham et al., the concept of nationalism is similar to that of social