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Naum Yaroschuk - professor of philosophy

The problem of nation as a global problem

Many supporters of globalisation view this process as a renunciation of outdated concepts such as "nation" and the abusive term "internationalism", while the opponents of globalisation have declared war on it to the bitter end. In reality humanity cannot exist without a fruitful national diversity and effective international cooperation, nor can it fence itself from globalisation.

So, what is nation? It is a social community which historically evolved on a definite territory and which has a substantive spiritual basis with a common language and its specific culture, Psychology, mentality and way of life, ensuring its viability and imparting a unique identity to it.

The Western ethno-sociology treats of the nation as an aggregation of citizens organised into a country. In other words, the nation is interpreted as a territorial community, as co-citisenship, as a state. The following concepts are used in this context, "national state", "national interests", "national security", as well as the United Nations Organisation. The tradition goes back to the Great French Revolution when the "nation" loosely meant the "state" and the "principle of nationhood" was the basis of the people's sovereign right to create their own country. Thus the notion of political nation was formed. To quote Max Weber, "the national is a community of sentiments that can adequately express acquisition of their own country". Hans Kohn echoes him, saying that "the nation is a product of nationalism as a commitment to one's country, and as an unreserved subjugation of man to the national state". In this way, the concepts of "nation" and "nationalism" are identified, and given a political interpretation.

In the Russian tradition the nation is viewed as a socio-ethnic community, as the highest decree of the ethnos, development with the stress on the spiritual affinity. "The most important aspect of any nation is its substance", wrote 19th century Russian revolutionary democrat Vissarion Belinsky."The substance is ever present in the people's spirit. Without changing itself, it emerges from all transformations integral and in one piece, when going through all forms of historical development". (V.G.Belinsky. "Russia before Peter the Great". The Russian Idea. M., 1992, P.77.)

Russian philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev maintained that the nation is a dynamic substance rather than a transient historical function, and it is enrooted in the mysterious profundity of life. Nationality is a positive enrichment of life, and it should be fought for. (N.Berdyaev. "The Fate of Russia", M., 1998, P.97.) National life is not isolated from the economic, political and other spheres of social life. Economics is the material basis for the nation's development, while Politics is a system of state legal measures assuring its optimal development. Dominant here is the spiritual genetic fund of the nation, its ability for a continuous reproduction of national culture, for creative activity in all spheres of human endeavor. Culture cannot be abstractly human, it is always specifically human, i.e. national, idiosyncratic and as such, general human. At the same time, this national culture interacts with other national cultures. A national culture can only be incorporated into the general human culture by interacting with other national cultures, while maintaining its own identity.

In spiritual term all nations are different. Herein lies their value for mankind. The humankind constitutes a unity in national diversify. The greater the extent of spirituality, the greater the nations, capacity for effective interaction, paving the way for their voluntary association for addressing general human problems. The national factor per se serves to contribute to social and spiritual development. But it can be used by some political forces for destructive Purposes. Insufficient attention to ethnic problems can lead to a growth in nationalist moods and manifestations of ethnic extremism, and eventually translates into a formidable global problem.

Today the nation as a socio-ethnic community is the most stable social entity. Accordingly, it is of great interest for researchers belonging to different trends. Absence of a unified approach to the definition of the notion of "nation" can be explained by its complexity as a social phenomenon. So various aspects of the concept of nation provide a vast field for exploration by the psychological and sociological, philosophical and historical, ethnological and demographic, politological and culturological, and other scientific trends. Which necessitates the formation of an inter-disciplinary approach and evolvement of natiology as a comprehensive field of knowledge of the nations as a science and school subject Promoting natiological education. Without a natiological analysis of the contemporary society global studies as a system of knowledge of modern-day global problems would not be complete.

Now, what is internationalism? It is an ideological-political category for denoting a community of interests of different nations and countries and their equitable cooperation for implementing common tasks and objectives. The objective basis for internationalism is provided by economic internationalisation, information exchange, and technorscientic and cultural progress.

Nationalism is the antithesis of internationalism. Nationalism should not be identified with national patriotism which implies devotion to one's nation, and a desire to be an active subject of national development and a co-creator of spiritual values and national culture. In this instance a desire for national assertion is combined with respect for other ethnic cultures, with mutual cultural and spiritual enrichment and commitment to the principles of national equality. On the other hand, nationalism means absolutization of the national factor, and a hypertrophied assessment of one's nation. The distinctive features of nationalism are: a) national exclusiveness and the preaching of national superiority adducing pseudo-scientific arguments; b) assertions about superiority of other nations, the division into "us" and "them", a struggle for the "purity" of one's nation; c) searches for peoples, "guilty" of difficulties, disorders and problems in their own country, creation of an "image of an enemy" when nationalism acts as an illusory compensation.

Internationalist values are an organic part of general human values and are a major factor of international solidarity, serving to unite peoples? efforts in solving common global problems of our time.

For mankind to survive in the modern world and fulfil its historic mission, we should not discard the nations as something that has outlived its usefulness and is impeding the creation of the featureless society of consumption. Nor should we abuse internationalism and waste our efforts on fighting globalism. Our task is to work toward building the chain nation - internationalism - global solidarity. This is objectively called for, historically determined and vitally necessary. Misunderstandings crop up when the nation is identified with nationalism, genuine internationalism with pseudo-internationalism and genuine globalism with pseudo-globalism.

Pseudo-internationalism is a dark reflection, a ghost, a gloomy shadow of internationalism. The same is true of pseudo-globalism and genuine globalism. Genuine globalism implies the views and the Policy that reflect common interests and strivings to unite the efforts of nations, peoples and countries. Internationalism presup-poses a state of the commonwealth of nations when a free development of each one of them preconditions a free development of all of them. Meanwhile, pseudo-internationalism, from the ideological and political viewpoint means that under the guise of talk about the peoples friendship and equality these very peoples are made to bend to the will of some one nation, or socio-political force, or ideology, while in inter-state relations the leading role is reserved for one certain country. A combination of national patriotism with internationalism facilitates constructive trend in national development, while a combination of nationalism with pseudo-internationalism is a destructive trend.

Genuine globalism presupposes global unity in national diversity thus multiplying the spiritual wealth of nations and mankind as a hole. Pseudo-globalism spells death to traditions, when "the time is out of joint". Its slogan is anti-historism. Pseudo-globalism is a club for the select few, it is their privileged existence in the present without the past and future. How can it be counteracted? Interaction of the global and national problems comes to the fore.

The future of humanity lies in unity of the natural and the spiritual factors on a new and higher levels. Nature is the cradle of man as a bio-social being. A nation is a medium where man is moulded as a socio-spiritual being. The spiritual is not something abstract or faceless. It is concrete and humane. The spiritual means the natural-spiritual. Consequently, ecological and national phenomena are vital for the future viable model of global unity.

Nobel Prize winner Rudyard Kipling, who brilliantly described the amicable life of the boy Mowgli and animals, but he not always believed in amicable co-existence of different nations: "East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet", he said. The venerable English writer was definitely not right. The historical and cultural development of both Greece and Russia (note also their geographical position) shows the possibility and need, for spiritual and other rapprochement of peoples living on different continents.

Summary

Mankind is fated to pursue fruitful national diversity and effective co-operation. It must not shut itself off from globalisation. For humanity to survive and fulfil its historic mission there should be built the chain nation - internationalism - global solidarism. This is objectively necessitated, historically predeterm-ined and vital. Misunderstandings crop up when the nation is identified with nationalism, genuine internationalism - with pseudo-internationalism and genuine globalism with pseudo-globalism. Genuine globalism implies unity in national diversity, thus multiplying the spiritual wealth of nations and mankind as a whole. Pseudo-globalism means denial of national culture, traditions and spirituality, its slogan is anti-historism. The key to the solution of the problem is interaction of the global and national.