The sky, trees, and grass are natural...the state is not

In a book I was reading this morning the author referred to the notion that the world around us is constantly falling apart, and how this has occurred throughout history. Now, he wasn't referring to any physical entropy (not to say physical changes in the world don't occur, that's just not what he was talking about...). He referred to the breaking apart and constant reformulation of nations, countries, states, and societies throughout history.

This reminded me of a more specific point of history which I think it is in our benefit to keep in mind; that there's nothing natural or innate about the 'state' or the 'nation'. These socio-political constructs have proved the most resilient in recent times, mainly due to the adoption of this model by the industrialized and most wealthy of nations. However, social organization according to specific territorial outlines is only one way of organizing ourselves politically. There have been others throughout time, and it is important to remember this.

In fact, this model has proved so popular and immutable, notably in the West, that we can't imagine our lives without our citizenship. That is, our membership and inclusion with a particular territorial entity. And around the world, societies where this particular nation-state model do not fit with the cultural and social traditions have constant challenges - both in protecting their rights (indigenous peoples most commonly have this difficulty) and in moving forward and taking part in the industrialized world, and in building stable societies. Not only that, but those without citizenship find themselves undefined, without a home, and in a world where, quite literally, no one knows what to do with them.

Attempts to resolve these difficulties take on many different forms around the world. Nonetheless, it's important to keep in mind why the nation-state was invented - for us. To organize ourselves socially, to help manage and define relations with one another, and, with any luck, enable us to move forward, grow together, and share with one another in a progressive manner. We don't owe the state anything - we'll get back from the state what we put into it, for sure, but there's no inherent responsibility to keep or maintain the state at all costs if it is not serving our purposes. For this reason, nations and countries around the world have been broken apart, have changed, and will continue to do so.

Now, nothing against the state here. The integrity of our political constructs is one reason for their success, where they're working out for the people involved...

But we need to keep in mind that the state has certainly not worked for everyone around the world, and as we change we need to make sure we're not afraid to continue to make the state, or whatever form of social organization we've chosen, work for us.