ideas and action has posted a new item, 'Nationalism and Imperialism'

I'm the author, thanks for posting.

I think the article is generally sound and well written.The only issue I have is the terminology towards the end of the article and the use of 'national liberation' and 'national self determination'.Terminology for Anarchists on the national question and anti imperialism is a potential minefield in that if we are not succinct and clear we can be construed as a state asset or plaguerising the Left.I would use the terms "self determination" or "anti imperialist" where applicable instead of any use of Nationalist terms although I accept that the author understands this and the article should be welcomed as Anarchists need to formulate a coherent uniform line on this issue.

freemind

I think the article is generally sound and well written.The only issue I have is the terminology towards the end of the article and the use of 'national liberation' and 'national self determination'.Terminology for Anarchists on the national question and anti imperialism is a potential minefield in that if we are not succinct and clear we can be construed as a state asset or plaguerising the Left.I would use the terms "self determination" or "anti imperialist" where applicable instead of any use of Nationalist terms although I accept that the author understands this and the article should be welcomed as Anarchists need to formulate a coherent uniform line on this issue.

Yea, I agree that these terms get sticky which is why I attempted to differentiate between "national liberation" as the project of creating independent nation states and "national liberation" as simply liberation from imperialist and colonial systems of domination.

deathspiritcommunist

freemind

I think the article is generally sound and well written.The only issue I have is the terminology towards the end of the article and the use of 'national liberation' and 'national self determination'.Terminology for Anarchists on the national question and anti imperialism is a potential minefield in that if we are not succinct and clear we can be construed as a state asset or plaguerising the Left.I would use the terms "self determination" or "anti imperialist" where applicable instead of any use of Nationalist terms although I accept that the author understands this and the article should be welcomed as Anarchists need to formulate a coherent uniform line on this issue.

Yea, I agree that these terms get sticky which is why I attempted to differentiate between "national liberation" as the project of creating independent nation states and "national liberation" as simply liberation from imperialist and colonial systems of domination.

yeah I think this article is sound in general but I think at the end this gets a bit messy, as you seem to define "national liberation" as a good thing, meaning the liberation of the working class internationally from capitalism and nations. But that's not the meaning anyone else ascribes to it, so I think rather than trying to rebrand "national liberation" as "working class liberation" it's best just to critique national liberation.

(On a more minor note there are a couple of "it's" instead of "its")

National Liberation is ascribed that meaning sometimes. It depends on who you are talking to. If you are talking to Stalinoids then yes, it means something different, which is why I included both meanings.