Nationalism and Socialism

This post got pretty much ignored in the Forum and perhaps more properly belongs in a blog:

Many debates I have had on this forum about socialism, tend to drift very quickly to national concerns. Now avoiding the obvious and unhelpful puns we could make about national socialism, I would like to pose a question.

Does socialism mean caring only about the working class in your own country? Surely questions of poverty and fairness apply outside national boundaries. Marx was unquestionably an internationalist. 'Working men of all countries unite....'

There is a bigger point here tho. The world we live in is increasingly globalised and the working class of any or every country are at the whim of international forces. I think any true socialism for the 21st century needs to follow the long tradition of international Marxism. For me nationalism is an outmoded way of thinking. Netherless it is still very strong on this forum (not just the BNP either). There is nothing wrong with loving the people of your country, of course. I think British people are on the whole moderate and tolerant of difference. Britain is still a great place live compared with many countries I have visited. This is not the same however as loving your country as a historical actor. To love one's country in this way is to privilege a certain contingent formation - the nation state. Such a bias allows us to somewhat ignore the plight of much of humanity and say 'our hospitals and schools are more important', than world poverty. There is nothing wrong with thinking this, per se. However as a Marxist I think every life is of equal value regardless of nationality . Nationalist thinking can often lead to racism and bias against asylum seekers, who for example are closer to the old notion of proletarians, than many working class British people. More to the point however, is that in a globalised economy, a world facing environmental challenges and international terrorism, nationalist thinking simply does not cut the mustard. We cannot face this new globalised world whilst focusing entirely on national concerns. For a start it will do this country and its working classes no favours. The old notions of the bourgeois and working classes do not fit this world anymore. What Marxists need to do, in my view, is challenge poverty and suffering, no matter where in the world it occurs.

Now awaiting an onslaught of people calling me a traitor to my nation...