Nations and Nationalism
1983
First Published
3.83
Average Rating
208
Number of Pages
This thoughtful and penetrating book, addressed to political scientists, sociologists, historians, and anthropologists, interprets nationalism in terms of its social roots, which it locates in industrial social organization. Professor Gellner asserts here that a society's affluence and economic growth depend on innovation, occupational mobility, the effectiveness of the mass media, universal literacy, and an all-embracing educational system based on a shared, standard idiom. These factors, taken together, govern the relationship between culture and the state. Political units that do not conform to the principle, "one state, one culture" feel the strain in the form of nationalistic activity.
Avg Rating
3.83
Number of Ratings
1,676
5 STARS
25%
4 STARS
41%
3 STARS
27%
2 STARS
6%
1 STARS
1%
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Author
Ernest Gellner
Author · 12 books
Ernest Gellner was a prominent British-Czech philosopher, social anthropologist, and writer on nationalism.
