Supranational Organizations are leading to a loss of National Identity
Supranationalism is the idea that sovereign states will agree to abide by norms used internationally and unanimously. They will work together, be homogenous with one another, etc. Such is to encourage cooperation between different states, be it politically or economically. The United Nations, for example, was created in 1945 after WWII to promote peace between the different countries and prevent another World War. It replaced the earlier League of Nations, which formed for the same purpose, but ended up being a flop. Today, the United Nations serves as a forum for different states may meet and vote upon their issues. Or as an evil corrupt institution that wishes to destroy everything that makes us special and turn us all into the typical human. One of the two. :P
The European Union is another example of a supranational organization as well as a display of the transition of emphasis from the military to economic power. The European Union was formed in 1958 to heal financial wounds from WWII. The countries involved established easier trade between countries (such as with the introduction of the Euro, the common currency of the European Union), easier migration between countries, similar policies, etc. The North American Free Trade Agreement is the E.U.'s western hemisphere counterpart. Both boast their abilities to help stabilize economic relations between their respective member-states, but could it be possible that they are leading to the morphing of such member-states into one supreme country?
Germany? Pfft... what's Germany?
Supranationalism is a form of globalization, or is it the other way around? Either way, you cannot argue with the fact that without new technologies, the entire thing would be a bust. Space-Time Compression is what makes it seem like people on the other side of the Earth are sitting down right next to you reading this article. So, it would make sense, that the more the technology, the easier it is for supranational organizations to extend and secure their control. Now, where did such technologies come from? And how do people in Less Developed Countries manage to get them? Industrialization.
The Face of Evil
Think about it: Industrialization resulted in new technologies that allowed for easier communication. These technologies can then in turn become mediums for pop culture. Take Rostow's Model, for example. Consider an non-industrialized country. It tends to be a traditional rural society with many distinct cultures. Said cultures are at the mercy of the environment (consider how Hinduism, an ethnic religion, has its holidays centered around agriculture), and because of this, isolation of its people has created multiple different tribes and cultures. Then, a supranational organization, such as the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank, strolls in and sees an opportunity to make some money (after seeing a takeoff industry that may be exploited). It offers the indigenous people loans at exorbitant interest rates so that infrastructure may be developed so that corporations may come along and set up shop. Industrialization begins, the indigenous people get jobs within the corporations' factories, the employees get money, and the multiplier effect takes hold as the people working in the basic industry can afford to buy things such as produce instead of growing it themselves. As more and more nonbasic industries are stimulated, the once traditional society has become a mass-consuming one. They have the technologies that encouraged Space-Time Compression. They have technologies that allow possiblism. No longer are they bound by their environment, so the folk cultures birthed from that environment are null and void. The society adopts pop culture as its population demands it so that they may flaunt their new wealth and maturity. Although it may have not been the purpose that the International Monetary Fund and World Bank had in mind, some folk cultures were lost due to their investments.
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Industrialization isn't the only medium for the destruction of the cultures making each individual nation unique. Capitalism and Communism also play a role, as our economic standards can often represent our virtues. Capitalism, for example, boasts a free market, in which you may create an empire from one's own hands. It encourages going out into the world, trying to educate yourself, and taking risks. This expresses freedom and a federal government. Communism on the other hand has a market in which everyone gets the same thing no matter what occupation they hold and in which all property is government-owned. This exercises the idea of a unitary government in which the state trumps everything, be it religion, family, nationality, class, etc. Both Communism and Capitalism sought to spread around the world and keep the other at bay (North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Warsaw Pact). Very supranational, one might say.
I had no snarky image ideas... Instead you can enjoy this nice picture of Ahmadinejad. Look at that impressive goatee. It just screams that 9/11 was a domestic plot (it probably was).
If you're still not convinced that we're losing culture to supranationalism, consider how supranational institutions such as the United Nations have caused the loss of cultural values by indirectly imposing their own. In the Medical Revolution of the less developed countries, organizations such as the U.N. have introduced many different technologies that have lengthened lives, ended hardships, etc. One of these technologies were contraceptives and family planning. This seemed very benevolent of them, but it also indirectly stamped in the ideal of small families, and ideal held in more developed countries. As if this wasn't bad enough, that ideal has led to many problems in countries such as China and India, where gendercide occurs as baby girls are aborted in favor of male children. While it is true that part of this is because of traditional culture seen in India with dowries (gifts given to the groom's family by the bride's family), the U.N.'s meddling is what gave the means to such. So ultimately, the U.N. is partly at fault.
One does not simply blame the U.N. One uses third-grade photoshopping skills to emphasize their point.
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Loss of national identity to supranational organizations doesn't end there. There is also the threat of the loss of power of individual governments to supranational institutions. This can be seen with the European Union and its Supremacy of Community Law, in which case if a conflict arises between national and community (supranational) law, then the latter trumps the former. This usually occurs as a result of human rights (which may sound good on paper, but can be ridiculous). One example is of how the E.U. trumped British law (while Britain has not adopted the euro, it is still part of the E.U. and therefore subject to its laws). Sean Taylor-Sabori was an ecstasy drug dealer in Britain. He was arrested in 1997 on the charges of his drug dealing, after police found 260,000 euros worth of ecstasy in his automobile. The means to get there were what was considered controversial. The police had reverse-engineered his radio pager to intercept his messages. The European Court of Human Rights considered this an offense to Article Eight of the European Convention on Human Rights (Right to respect of private and family life). So, Taylor-Sabori was released in 2002. However, the European Court of Human Rights also ruled that Article Thirteen of the European Convention on Human Rights (Anyone who has their listed rights broken are have a right to appropriate compensation) was also broken as a result of the first offense. As a result, not only was Taylor-Sabori released, he was also given 3,000 euros for his troubles.
Yo dawg.
Come to gloat? Eat cannabis you government-payroll scumbag!
Nah man... they lettin' u out cuz they realize
da po-lease cheated when they jacked yo' messages off yo' pager while u hustlin' in da hood. They gettin' u lotsa $$$$$ 2. I see... would you still like to purchase some marijuana?
Supranationalism and supranational institutions are leading to a loss of national identity. Folk culture is receiving the axe as new technologies take place, while pop cultures held around the world are flourishing. As seen in Rostow's model (Chapter 9: Development), a supranational organization such as the International Monetary Fund can transform a traditional society into a mass-consuming one. With technology such as the internet, space-time compression (Chapter 1: Defining Geography) becomes a medium for one definite homogenizing culture to spread. Capitalism and Communism are two very different cultures that tried to spread over the globe while destroying the other. Supranational organizations are taking away power from national governments bit by bit (Chapter 8: Political Geography). All of this comes together to lead to a loss of national identity. I'm no Nostradamus, but I wouldn't be surprised if boundaries become nonexistent and countries become a higher level of organization.
I chose this topic because it seemed very controversial, yet very interesting. Not many people are willing to talk bad about political entities, especially ones of great influence such as the United Nations or European Union. This shows in my research, which was a strenuous process--looking blog after blog by conspiracy theorists, looking for a nugget of fact. It was a challenge that I enjoyed taking, and I enjoyed getting a chance to disrupt the peace with controversy.