>>13020986
You’re making an assumption that nationalism = authoritarianism, or that nationalism implies authoritarianism or vice versa. Is it not true that native Americans were nationalistic in their pride but libertarian in their government values?
The point being is that you are thinking of things from a very skewed perspective where EVERY government is authoritarian and EVERY individual is a mindless nobody with no influence on the world around him. The government is made of people, unfortunately, so this can’t be true.
What is true is that nationalism has nothing to do with government, it is merely a sentiment and an idea. The form of government will have influence, and if it is authoritarian then yes it can easily become dangerous. If a libertarian government or anarchic government system was in place, however, nationalism is merely the glue that holds a nation together. Without nationalism and without an authoritarian government telling you that you’re it’s citizen, nationalism is the only thing binding an individual to a group and giving that individual resolve to work for the common good.