I’m serious. I don’t understand why humans draw imaginary bidders. I don’t understand why humans fight and lose their lives defending those borders. It’s not “cultural identity”. For example, people in either side of Punjab are more similar to each other than say people in the South of India. And further, i don’t understand how countries can be bought and sold like the “Louisiana purchase”. I mean who’s paying for what? It would be great if someone could recommend some books about the idea of nationhood.
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1. Collect taxes. A fairly common system of production and distribution.
2. Enact and enforce laws
3. Provide social welfare and social structures (education, health, infrastructure…)
4. Defend the borders – both physical, diplomatic and economic.
These are the broad characteristics of what makes a country a country. Cultural similarity is not one of those characteristics although culture can be inherited and gradually incorporated into the peoples of the country.
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