ANTHONY D. SMITH: CULTURIST HERO

The right-wing sociologist Anthony D. Smith was born today in 1939 

by John K. Press

Anthony D. Smith (1939-2016) is a culturist hero. Alongside Samuel P. Huntington (1927 – 2008), Smith inspired me as I wrote Culturism in 2006. Many recognize Harvard’s Huntington for his having created the ‘Clash of Civilizations’ model, but though Smith taught at the London School of Economics, very few know about or appreciate his ‘ethno-symbolism’ model of nationalism. 

Leftist controlled academia sees the nation as an, ‘imagined construct,’ that was invented by the West in the 18th century and subsequently exported to the rest of the world. This view (not incidentally) portrays nations (like masculinity, literature, race) as illegitimate and oppressive.

Smith, by contrast, argued that nationalism’s power comes from the myths, memories, traditions and symbols of their ethnic heritages. The characteristics of ethnic communities, by his definition, were:

1.  An identifying name or emblem.
2.  A myth of common ancestry.
3.  Shared historical memories and traditions.
4.  One or more elements of common culture.
5.  A link with a historic territory or ‘homeland.’
6.  A measure of solidarity, at least among the elites.

Among symbolic building blocks of nationalism, Smith includes songs, images, literature, art, history, monuments, buildings, tomb styles, myths, belief in a golden age, religion, states, films, the dead, heroes and the virtues they inspire, feeling "chosen," language, redemptive hopes, coercion, clothes, traditions, habits, laws and institutions. [1]

Mainstream historians reasoned that if all this is needed to sustain nationalism it must be false. Smith countered that if all this is needed to sustain nationalism, then we had better get to it! He wrote that, as nations were universal, essential, and a source of identity, maintaining them gives historians, artists, archaeologists, linguists, philosophers and others a culturist mission – to reify the nation!

Smith helped invent the distinction between ‘ethnic’ and ‘civic’ nationalism.[2] Interestingly, he noted that Western European nations developed towards civic nationalism in rebellion against absolute monarchs; Whereas Eastern Europeans veered towards ethnic nationalism to challenge empires. And, whereas he acknowledged that ethnic nationalism could create refugees, he also acknowledged that it was the firmest basis for a nation.

Of potential interest to affirmative right readers, Smith also considered biological ethnic purity a myth. This was based on his reading of ancient migration, endogamy patterns, and cultural openness. He looked at how the British, for example, looked to Roman predecessors in the 16th century, to British, Saxon and Danish ancestors in 1685, and to Germanic roots under Burke.[3] 

For Smith, ethnicity was the subjective belief that those in the nation were part of a continuous ethnic group. But, DNA-based or not, he noted that the French concept of themselves as a people is the main basis of their ethno-state (as opposed to racio-state). But, Smith's main achievement was to stand up to an entire academic myth. He said that nations are not just 'imagined' products of modern nationalist projects, designed to centralize an economy. No! French culture draws on real and long-lasting myths. If modern nation builders had said, for example, that French culture is rooted in Confucian belly dancing, it wouldn't have flown. They built on pre-existing, established memories of Charlemagne, Roman, Greek and Christian heritage. The French ethno-state is thus real and merits veneration.

Smith denounced global culture as an oxymoron. And, as a nationalist, he questioned the viability of ‘European culture’ as a basis for solvency. His questions about DNA and the subjective nature of ethnos are still cutting-edge. But, going beyond questions, Smith called for culturism in the arts and academia. And, by championing ‘ethno-symbolism’ – in the heart of academia – he led by example. Anthony D. Smith is an inspiring culturist hero.

Notes

[1] Smith, Anthony, D., “Nationalism and Modernism,” (London: Routledge, 2003), 138.
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_D._Smith
[3] Smith, Anthony, D., “Myths and Memories of the Nation,” (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 71.

Note: Links to our site are banned on Facebook, so if you wish to share this article there please use the identical version available at this site.