PR Report #5 The Sovereign Individual::Chapter 5 - The Life And Death Of The Nation-State

**普韦布尔崛起公关报告，第五集，深入探讨《主权个体》的第五章，重点关注民族国家在向信息时代过渡的轨迹。该章节名为“民族国家的生与死：暴力时代民主和民族主义作为资源战略”，探讨了这些曾经的优势如今如何受到挑战。** 本集以“两堵墙的故事”开篇，将1989年柏林墙的倒塌与1495年圣乔瓦尼城墙的摧毁进行类比。后者标志着工业时代的到来和火药的兴起，开启了一个暴力和资源掠夺至上的时代。前者，500年后，标志着向信息时代的转变，暴力不再那么重要。突出显示的关键区别在于，在工业时代，能够持续成功运用暴力的民族国家蓬勃发展。规模胜于效率；拥有最大的军队比战略应用更重要。为了维持这些庞大的军队，国家需要有效地从公民那里提取财富，因此出现了柏林墙，以防止公民逃离并确保持续的资源提取。即使在西方，虽然允许移居国外，但征收重税，这表明了一种不太明显但仍然存在的控制。 报告分析了民主在促进资源集中到国家手中的作用。冷战期间的美国在这方面表现出色，有效地从公民手中“攫取”了资源。美国政府被描述为一个企业，税收收入（强制获取）资助“全方位安全服务”，这体现在其全球军事存在上。然而，这家企业由其员工（民选官员）运营，他们优先考虑增加就业的政策，这意味着他们对降低成本或税收不太感兴趣。这种固有的利益冲突导致长期赤字，因为政府宁愿让收入低于支出，也不愿因政治影响而削减开支。 民族主义被认为是加强国家支持的关键工具，它强调了语言和群体认同等共同特征，而这些认同源于国家利益。这促进了以较低成本动员更大的军队，并简化了官僚机构。通用语言能够更快地传播和理解法令，从而简化规则并减少对中介的需求。因此，民主和民族主义极大地提高了工业时代的财富提取效率，这对于资助庞大的军队和优先考虑规模而非效率至关重要。 该书断言，信息时代将揭露民族国家的掠夺本质。为了生存，这些国家必须继续提取巨额财富。报告随后分析了美国最近发生的事件，特别提到了对未实现收益征税的提议，对那些零收入纳税人征收15%“爱国者税”的建议，以及允许更大程度控制金融并使纽约联邦储备银行能够干预市场的“美联储账户”的想法。报告认为，这些提议支持了民族国家正在努力维持其对财富提取的控制以维持当前结构的理论。 当前时代的特征是效率优先于规模。报告表明，民族国家可能无法以当前形式生存，因为它们为资助而发展起来的庞大军队不再是必要的，这归功于基于微处理技术的革命。这强调了该书的中心主题，即一场新的权力革命，一种以牺牲20世纪民族国家为代价的个人解放。最后，报告以书中引用的一句话结束，重申必须出现新的制度形式，这些形式能够在新的技术条件下维护自由，同时在生活中表达所有公民共同的利益。

Puebl Rising's PR Report, Episode 5, delves into Chapter 5 of "The Sovereign Individual," focusing on the nation-state's trajectory as it transitions into the Information Age. The chapter, titled "The Life and Death of the Nation State, Democracy, and Nationalism as Resource Strategies in the Age of Violence," examines how these concepts, once strengths, are now being challenged. The episode opens with a "Tale of Two Walls," drawing parallels between the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the destruction of San Giovanni's walls in 1495. The latter marked the advent of the Industrial Age and the rise of gunpowder, ushering in an era where violence and resource extraction were paramount. The former, 500 years later, signifies the shift to the Information Age, where violence diminishes in importance. The key difference highlighted is that in the Industrial Age, nation-states that could consistently deploy violence most successfully thrived. Magnitude trumped efficiency; having the largest army was more critical than its strategic application. To sustain these large armies, states needed to efficiently extract wealth from their citizens, hence the Berlin Wall, preventing citizens from escaping and ensuring continued resource extraction. Even in the West, though expatriation was permitted, it was heavily taxed, demonstrating a less obvious, yet present, control. The report examines democracy's role in facilitating the gathering of resources into state hands. The US, during the Cold War, excelled in this, effectively "seizing" resources from citizens. The US government is framed as a business where tax revenue, forcibly acquired, funds "full-spectrum security services" demonstrated by its global military presence. This business, however, is run by its employees, the elected officials, who prioritize policies that increase employment, meaning they are less interested in reducing costs or taxes. This inherent conflict of interest leads to chronic deficits as governments prefer to let revenues fall below outlays rather than cut spending due to political repercussions. Nationalism is identified as a key tool in bolstering state support by emphasizing shared characteristics like language and group identification stemming from state interests. This facilitates larger army mobilization at a lower cost and simplifies bureaucracy. A common language enables faster dissemination and understanding of edicts, streamlining rule and reducing the need for intermediaries. Democracy and nationalism, therefore, greatly improved wealth extraction during the Industrial Age, vital for funding large militaries and prioritizing magnitude over efficiency. The book asserts that the Information Age will expose the predatory nature of the nation-state. To survive, these states must continue to extract huge amounts of wealth. The report then analyzes recent events within the US, specifically mentioning talk of a proposed tax on unrealized gains, a suggested 15% "Patriot tax" for those with zero income tax liability, and the idea of "Fed accounts" that would allow greater control over finances and enable market intervention by the New York Fed. These proposals, the report argues, support the theory that nation-states are striving to maintain their grip on wealth extraction to maintain current structures. The current era is characterized by the prioritizing of efficiency over magnitude. The report suggests that nation-states may not survive in their current form because the large militaries they evolved to fund are no longer necessary due to the revolution in micro-processing-based technology. This emphasizes the book's central theme, which is a new revolution of power, a liberation of individuals that comes at the expense of the 20th-century nation-state. Finally, the report ends with a quote from the book, reiterating that new institutional forms must arise, that can preserve freedom within the new technological conditions while also giving expression in life to the common interests that all citizens share.