Why is nationalism bad?

Nationalism is a form of identification with one’s own group, nation, or country.  Experts on this subject matter stress that people always have the natural tendency to group together based on affinity even at birth.  With this tendency, people in the same country basically like to think of themselves as one united people.  On one side of the coin, being affiliated with one’s nation is a good thing because peace and progress can only be achieved by nationalistic attributes like unity and cooperation.  But on the other side of things, nationalism can also have a negative impact on people and the whole nation or society in general.

For one reason, nationalism is bad in a sense that it also promotes the division of people from around the world.  There may be cooperation from within a nation, but it also gives a sense of its separate identity from other nations and groups.  When applied to a food source crisis, for example, one nation typically provides for itself first before trying to serve the needs of others.  Internal interests are attended to first while other groups or nations are considered last.  The whole concept of being nationalistic in this sense creates borders between different countries.  Because of greed in resources also, nationalism paved the way for many wars between countries and invasions of nearby territories.

Nationalism is also blamed for various atrocities to different groups of people in many countries around the world.  Because of different ethnic backgrounds, many people have suffered and died in countries like Germany, Cambodia, and Yugoslavia, for example.

Many people also point out that the extremes of nationalism have led to hatred for other people just because they are of a different color or race.  Some groups of people also disapprove of immigrants entering their own countries as they are considered threats to their jobs, livelihoods, and their nationalistic identity.  With all of these negative impacts on people and society, many consider “nationalism” bad.