"Nearly all of us on Earth live within a 'nation-state'. Nation-states are an invisible and seemingly inevitable and eternal part of the infrastructure that forms our society: the water we swim in. Rarely do we pause to consider how this global system of nation-states came into being, and what might replace it after its gone. But as the United States wages a war of aggression on Iran, in a move that will drive up oil prices and the cost of living for ordinary citizens all over the world, the question presents itself anew: who do nation-states serve; what are they for?
On Downstream this week is the author and essayist Rana Dasgupta, whose latest book, βAfter Nations: The Making and Unmaking of a World Order,β tackles these questions head-on. In conversation with Aaron Bastani, they discuss: What is a nation-state? How did they come to replace the role of religion in the liberal era? Do states need their citizens to have rights? What are the most salient challenges to the nation-state today? And were the gains in workersβ rights of the last century a sign that progress and democracy will triumph in the end, or something more like a historical blip?"
#NationStates confirms #DataBreach, shuts down game site
So #NationStates has zombies for Halloween. A lot of my people are zombies. More are dead. I think they'll just....be...fine...
Regardless, have a zombie piping plover!
Every now and then I think about playing #nationstates again, which is a the silly browser based game where you run a country and every decision you make turns extreme and things go comically wrong.
The best part of it is really the roleplaying - because there's not a way for countries to fight with each other, people playing the game just decided to do forum based RPs where they play as characters from their countries, fight wars, and write elaborate guides to their imaginary countries.
Liam O'Mara IV, PhD
RebekahWSD
Miguel Afonso Caetano
MassivelyOP
The New Oil
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Floaty Birb
MathiasTCK.bsky.social