Drawbridge Up vs Drawbridge Down Visions of the Nation and Globality
Discussion
Jonathan Haidt:
"Do you want to make it more open to the outside, or do you think it’s already too open, and is in need of stronger borders and gates? A recent cover story in The Economist pointed to exactly this distinction as the new divide in the rich countries.
The article quoted Stephan Shakespeare, a British pollster:
We are either “drawbridge up” or “drawbridge down”. Are you someone who feels your life is being encroached upon by criminals, gypsies, spongers, asylum-seekers, Brussels bureaucrats? Do you think the bad things will all go away if we lock the doors? Or do you think it’s a big beautiful world out there, full of good people, if only we could all open our arms and embrace each other? (“Drawbridges Up,” The Economist, July 30, 2016, p. 16), [1]
That quote was written in 2005, but it could not be more timely in Europe or the United States today. The trends, fears, and alliances that brought us to the global turning point of 2016 were a long time in the making.
What Is Human Nature?
The drawbridge quote points us to what is arguably the fundamental cause of the division between globalists and nationalists: their underlying theories of human nature. If you really believe that the world is “full of good people,” then why not lower the drawbridge and leave it down? But if you have a darker view of human nature and are inclined to see more threats in the world, then you’ll want to retain full control of the drawbridge, lower it selectively, and check people’s papers before you let them in. (The drawbridge metaphor works particularly well for Britain as it reconsiders its relationship with the European Union)."
(https://www.humansandnature.org/the-ethics-of-globalism-nationalism-and-patriotism)