The cultural community that connects each nation is a guarantee of spiritual cohesion and unity. However, in a negative direction, national culturalism can give rise to interethnic discrimination.
Herder's concept
The founder of the concept of the nation as a cultural community was the Lutheran priest Herder, who was fond of the works of Kant, Rousseau and Montesquieu. In accordance with his concept, the nation was an organic group with its own language and culture. This concept formed the basis of the history of culture and laid the foundation for cultural nationalism, where the value of national culture was the most important postulate. The most important feature of the nation Herder considered language. In turn, the language gave rise to a distinctive culture, expressed in legends, national songs and rituals. Statehood here receded into the background, and the greatest importance was given to collective memory and national traditions.
The main idea of Herder's works was the definition of a nation as a natural community originating from ancient times. Modern psychologists confirm this concept, since for his safety, a person is inclined to form groups, which include many people who are close in spirit and culture.
Development of national culturalism
In 1983, Ernest Gelner, in his work, described the connection between nationalism and modernization. Earlier, in the pre-capitalist era, nations were tied by various ties, the main ones of which were cultural. During the development of industrialization, social mobility began to be given more importance, and nationalism became the ideology of preserving cultural unity. Ethnic groups carry out the primary task - the consolidation of social ties between people belonging to the same historically established community. The feeling of national unity is fundamental here, therefore such social formations are quite stable and spiritually united.
However, the desire for ethnic and cultural self-determination can be accompanied by the manifestation of aggressiveness, intolerance and discrimination in relation to other ethnic groups. Cultural nationalism, at its best, enriches world culture, preserving the traditions of ancestors, and serves as the basis for the development of ethnic groups.
The nation as a cultural community will always influence the political situation. In multinational countries, the possibility of disagreement increases against the background of national and cultural differences. Therefore, the state should become a unifying and restraining factor to prevent negative processes in interethnic relations.
