Will races and nations make it through globalization and assimilation?

[Nik]

Many nations existent in ancient and medieval times are extinct, some barely remembered by history books. It doesn't mean that people belonging to them perished or disappeared, rather they were absorbed into a more dominant ethnos.
Migration and removal of once existent barriers for intercultural and inter-religious marriages accelerates processes previously driven by conquests.
Yeah, people and some countries still try to preserve their uniqueness by limiting migration and cultivating their own tradition. Yet, it seems the assimilation is a stronger trend.
Do you see races, religious, ethnicity remaining or they won't survive distinction in the on-going melting pot and, if so, how soon?

[Uri]

The question is not posted correctly. Races, religions, ethnicities exist only witnin nations.
Borders, language and culture define a nation.
The American Deluge

[Scout]

So, what's your answer to the question as you define it, Uri?

Races in the U.S. are mixing, as are cultures. Religion isn't a barrier to marriage, unless they're fundamentalists, Catholics, or Muslims - and even then, lines are crossed.

[Ian]

My guess is they will survive. The ancient nations collapsed through military conquest, by and large, but more recently there has been a tendency for fragmentation into new nations. I thought about this a little for some of my futuristic novels, and my guess there was that even if there were to be major federalism, for simple administrative and language reasons, the nations would remain, more like super states, and they would have significant rights to make laws as they liked, but within some overall guidelines to ensure none would "beggar their neighbours" of restrict the rights and opportunities of their own citizens more than their neighbours.

[[deleted user]]

Uri wrote: "The question is not posted correctly. Races, religions, ethnicities exist only witnin nations.
Borders, language and culture define a nation.
The American Deluge"

I would disagree with that statement. Races, religions and ethnicities are spread and exist all over the World and national borders don't define them. Today, nations that are culturally, ethnically and linguistically pure are a rarity in the World. Here in Montreal, Canada, you can hear over a hundred different languages, see all the possible races and religions of the World just while walking around. Yes, the official language is French (and is still spoken by a majority), but Montreal's territorial borders are artificial, like most territorial borders of countries around the World. Nations generally don't exist within pure ethnic, cultural or linguistic borders. They are actually differentiated by their government systems, adherence to a specific set of laws and a specific constitution and, to some degree, by the language or languages they officially use (even though dozens of other languages could be used daily in them).

Some countries, like Japan, have tried for centuries to preserve their uniqueness by limiting or even forbidding interracial mixing and immigration through xenophobic laws and regulations, but had to gradually loosen their standards in the face of globalisation.

In contrast to that, you have things like 'The Islamic World' emerging, defining people by other than nationality. Another factor making national borders less relevant is called 'The World Wide Web'. Electronically, the World is now one single, multifaceted entity that exchanges data, personal communications and financial and commercial dealings at a vertiginous rate. You can even get to know and date a friend/partner electronically thousands of kilometers away before marrying him/her ('mail order bride' anyone?).

As for the nations' territorial limits, they have been changing constantly for milleniums for a variety of reasons (mostly through wars) and will continue to change. However, that subject is another matter best discussed in a separate thread.

[Philip]

I would add geography to the reduction in borders. Technology from sailing ships to aircraft and rapid people movement reduces the separation of peoples even within a traditional nation state thus hopefully reducing tribal behaviours. Mountain ranges still cut off people from day to day interaction

In the UK this is very relevant because of the decision to leave the federalist direction of the EU. Partly to revert to a more British view but also to allow a wider world view that the EU wanted controlled by the EU centre.

Anyone who has visited London knows that it is truly a world city. That is not true of other parts of the UK.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demogra...

I suppose this is no different from my own experience of a city like New York and then a small town in rural Ohio, (not picking on Ohio) in terms of racial, religious mix. New York is in turn different from Miami or LA where again geography has a larger part to play. The same is true of Paris and rural France.

To be more controversial the metropolitan elite in the major countries of the world have a very different viewpoint to the people in rural areas where different races and religions are rare.

[Ian]

I would suggest everybody in a major city has a different viewpoint to those in rural areas because they have different daily interactions. As an example, you find a lot of people wanting to preserve the environment living in major cities - because what they want does not affect them in the slightest. It is always easy to require someone else to give up their current activities.

[Scout]

Good point, and applicable in many current and historical cases.

[Nik]

Philip wrote: "the people in rural areas where different races and religions are rare...."

I hear rural France and Bulgaria's seaside are popular destinations among British pensioners -:)

[Nik]

200 years from now, allowing for current demographic and migration tendencies, do you see the world, countries,races remaining as they are?

[[deleted user]]

No! First off, some countries will have simply disappeared, thanks to the rising sea levels (Bangladesh, some small Pacific and Indian Ocean island nations). Next, I expect the general population to be a lot more mixed ethnically and racially than today (you probably won't recognize Japan in 200 years). One hope I have is that a better level of general education and spread of science and knowledge will result in the disappearance or significant shrinking of religions and their influences on World affairs and personal lives. Once consequence of that could be less wars and ethnic hatred.

[Ian]

Nik wrote: I hear rural France and Bulgaria's seaside are popular destinations among British pensioners -:)"

Not sure that will last with Brexit. I have a friend who has such a place, and is somewhat nervous as the negotiations trickle onwards :-(

[Ian]

I think Michel is too optimistic. If a lot of land is submerged, where do the people go? Given that it is agricultural land, and climate change will mean that agriculture will have to change just about everywhere, and the best land will be gone, there will be a lot of hungry people on the move, and that favours religious fanaticism. On top of that the countries less affected will still be affected to some extent, and won't want millions of immigrants. Unless we really do something serious about climate change, I see a lot more war.

[Philip]

Ian wrote: "I think Michel is too optimistic. If a lot of land is submerged, where do the people go? Given that it is agricultural land, and climate change will mean that agriculture will have to change just a..."

Population growth due better health is already pushing at acceptance. Look at the rise of the right in Europe - just seen news on Italy's election next week. Anti-migration. Most migrants to Europe through Turkey or Libya are not from Syria and Afghan they are from Somalia, Eritrea and other parts of Africa. These are economic migrants i.e. they want a better way to feed their families (nearly the whole US immigration was built from that need - still there from South and Central America.

In global warming terms what happens to the rest of the USA if half of Florida is under water. What happens to Europe with the Netherlands or Italy with Venice.

I think the religious and political fanatics will win out probably dressed up as some grievance about what happened 200 years ago but I'm a pessimist

[Nik]

We see rapid assimilation in Europe, States and other places, while in Asia and Africa the volume is supposedly smaller. So, will these notions survive in the future: races, religions, ethnicity, gender or not necessarily ?

[[deleted user]]

As you'll see from my profile picture, I'm white :) but I have no real interest in my race, or anybody else's.

It's all about mindset.

[Lizzie]

I want what Michel said, but expect we will at some point be what Ian said.
Apocalyptic insular states/countries or a Star Trek future. It could go either way.