The Point of No Return? Protecting Liberty from Globalism and Nationalism

Abstract

The world's borders are beginning to rapidly fade away from significance. Consequently, previously independent nations are being forced into the same shrinking economic and political arena. Isolationism is a thing of the past, and no nation can escape the gravitational pull of the global governance community, particularly in reference to international organizations such as the UN and EU. Hence, allied nations are voluntarily relinquishing their sovereignty in exchange for a place in the seemingly beneficial conglomerate entities, while nations who are adversaries cannot avoid interactions, rising tensions and the threat of military intervention. As a response to the chaos and uncertainty associated with globalization, some groups particularly proud of their heritage are responding with strong, sometimes hostile sentiments of nationalism to represent their willingness to revert to independence. Nationalist ideals can be just as dangerous, and have shown to provide the appropriate conditions for genocide, under 20th Century circumstances similar to today's climate. Therefore, in a free society, both globalism and nationalism directly undermine individual liberty, and the answer to navigating the unstable global future is far more complicated than this dichotomy of conflicting ideals would have one believe.