Modern Capitalist Society, Competing Nation States, Antisemitism and Hatred of the Jewish State

Abstract

This chapter analyses some of the connections between the system of competing nation states, capitalist society, modern anti-Semitism and hatred of the Jewish state. In order to do so, the chapter focuses on two elements of thought in societies and their connections to antisemitism and anti-Zionism. It explains the role of the system of competing nation states, with their hegemonic ideological rationales: the republican and the primordial or ethnic nation model. The chapter touches upon the relation between the largely impersonal processes and functioning of modern capitalist societies and modern antisemitism. It explains how individuals perceive structures, processes and exploitation in the society, and what kind of connections exists between these perceptions and antisemitism. Finally, the chapter argues that a specific connection between both these elements (the nation state concept and the perception of the functioning of society) forms the basis for conspiracy theories, which are projected onto Jews. Keywords: anti-Zionism; antisemitism; capitalist society; competing nation states; Jewish state; modern anti-Semitism