Rethinking Marxism and Nationalism in an Age of Globalization

Abstract

This essay seeks to review Marxist analyses of the phenomenon of nationalism. It presents some of the core ideas of classical Marxism on nationalism and argues that they require rethinking and revising in the light of the contemporary globalized age. Marxist theory provides a distinctive approach to nationalism, in particular focusing on the global sweep of capitalism and the need for forms of international solidarity as a resistance to global capitalism. Yet Marxism has to grasp more adequately the continuing force of nationalism and its appeal to ideals of identity and self-determination. Contemporary Marxism has to understand the new forms of internationalism, distinct in their agency from traditional socialist internationalism. Such a rethinking is a necessary condition for the relevance of Marxism in understanding the continuing significance of nationalism in a globalized age.