When nation-states were being created, their stories of why they deserved to exist were based on achievement. “We are a real country because we did this important thing” would be the meaning behind the narrative of the national identity.
Spain, for example, defended Europe from a Muslim invasion and brought God to the Western hemisphere.
France also defended Europe from the Muslim invasion and created the Enlightenment.
Italy gave Renaissance to the world.
The US became the City upon a Hill, the exemplary beacon of freedom for the whole world.
Look at any nation, and you’ll see its origin story of achievement.
Things changed when the nation-state started withering away. The narratives of national identity changed and split into two groups:
- We are a victim of endless historic abuse which prevents us from flourishing.
- We are perpetrators of endless historic abuse and need to be punished.
If you want examples of (1), look at the entirety of Latin America. If you want (2), look at Canada, US, Great Britain. Both are ultimately the same thing because they are part of the same S&M dynamic which is, by its very nature, ego-oriented and completely barren.
Apply this method to any country you want and you’ll see where exactly it is on its nation-state journey.
“We have achieved this great thing” = strong nation-state. People want to identify themselves with this important achievement and love the nation-state.
“We are victims / victimizers” = the nation-state is going out of business. People are repulsed by the S&M dynamic and emotionally disengage from the nation-state.
What does all of this have to do with the novel Vera by the Spanish writer Juan del Val?
Absolutely nothing whatsoever. The novel is crap. Don’t read it. It’s about a rich woman who finds a male prostitute and becomes “sexually liberated”. I only read it because it received the most prestigious literary award in Spain this year, and it’s my job to follow this stuff.
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