Quotes from Anderson

In his essay “Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism,” Benedict Anderson suggests that martyrdom executed in the name of nationalism springs from the belief that death for one’s country is an act of inherent pureness. He accordingly engages the quandary of “how far” people would be “willing to die for” a nationalistic cause “if [they] imagined the proletariat merely as a group in hot pursuit of refrigerators, holidays, or power” (Anderson 144) to validate the implication that mortal sacrifice can only be induced by the “aura of purity” (144) surrounding nationalism. In short, because the latter is thought to be constituted by such a wholesome foundation of integrity, it can drive many to risk their lives in its honor.

Anderson also comments on the criticism of nationalism’s frequent indistinctness. He concludes that “cosmopolitan and polylingual intellectuals” (Anderson 5) often harp on nationalism’s lack of clear identity by likening it to “ ‘neurosis’ in the individual, with much the same essential ambiguity attaching to it” (5). Anderson underscores the perspective that the flaws of vagueness and “emptiness” (5) give rise to nationalism’s reputation of being philosophically and theoretically unclear and unsubstantial.