Download file 52 KB Texto completo en español More of: Félix Martínez Bonati

Leaving behind the modern nationalist ideal and its "postmodern" deconstruction, we must reconsider the necessity and the contingency, as well as the limitations and virtues, of the modern Nation. The sense of the Nation is, at its core, the will to join the efforts of all citizens towards common goals. It presupposes the value of unity. It therefore enters into an unavoidable conflict with cultural particularisms and the ethnic segregation of subcommunities. To a certain critical point, conflicts and differences enrich the life of a national community, but beyond it they are unmanageable, even in a tolerant democratic society, and, obviously, they tend to be destructive. The integration of all the people living in the territory to an optimally minimal national culture is a demonstrable social good. Its realization raises profound moral dilemmas. In order to facilitate the resolution of those dilemmas, one must first conceive the form of that integration. The meaning of transculturation towards modern Western culture is often disfigured because the concept that is usually held of this culture is erroneous. It is impossible to establish a reasonable policy to confront ethnic diversity absent clear notions of the implicit realities and goals.