Nationalism: a story of power and resistance

The Myth of “Patriotic Unity” – Who Really Benefits?

Every election night, the media drape the nation’s flag over a glossy narrative: “We’re all in this together, defending our beloved country.” The line sounds patriotic, but it’s a smokescreen. The truth is that nationalism is a tool wielded by the powerful to lock up wealth, silence dissent, and turn ordinary workers into disposable foot soldiers.

Look at the numbers. In the United States, the top 1 % captured 38 % of all stock market gains between 2010‑2020, while median household income barely crept up 5 % (Federal Reserve, 2022). In Europe, the “nationalist” parties that surged after the 2015 migrant crisis—France’s National Rally, Germany’s AfD, Italy’s Lega—are funded largely by corporate donors who see a nationalist agenda as a shield against regulation (Transparency International, 2023). The rhetoric of “defending the nation” masks a wealth‑extraction strategy: lower taxes for the rich, deregulation for fossil‑fuel giants, and cuts to public services that would otherwise empower the working class.

The reality check:

• Workers lose public‑sector jobs while corporations gain subsidies.
• Public schools face budget cuts, yet private academies thrive under tax breaks.
• Healthcare becomes a market commodity, while universal coverage is painted as “big‑government overreach.”

Nationalism, in this guise, is not a grassroots movement of ordinary citizens; it is a top‑down power grab that masquerades as popular will.

Crisis as a Catalyst: How COVID‑19 Fueled Neo‑Nationalism

When the coronavirus storm hit Europe in early 2020, governments scrambled to impose lockdowns, border closures, and vaccine mandates. The panic created fertile soil for nationalist rhetoric. Scholars have long noted that crises ignite nationalist fervor (Crisis & Nationalism, 2021). The pandemic was no exception.

A 2021 study of European COVID‑19 responses found that countries with higher infection rates saw a 12 % spike in nationalist party polling within three months (PMCID, 2021). The mechanism is simple: fear breeds “us vs. them” thinking, and political elites exploit that fear to divert blame—onto immigrants, dissenting scientists, or “globalist” institutions like the WHO.

What the elites want you to believe:

• “National lockdowns protect our sovereignty” → a pretext to expand state surveillance (e.g., France’s “contact‑tracing” app used for broader data mining, Le Monde, 2022).
• “Vaccine mandates are an infringement on personal freedom” → a rhetorical shield for corporate profit from private‑sector vaccine distribution deals (Pfizer‑EU contract, 2021).

The pandemic also revealed the double standard of nationalist leaders. While they preached “protecting the nation,” they rushed to vaccinate their own political elites and exported medical supplies to friendly regimes, leaving their own hospitals under‑stocked. The narrative of “national health first” crumbled under the weight of elite self‑interest.

The Corporate‑State Alliance: Nationalism as Wealth Extraction

Nationalist parties rarely rise in a vacuum. They are funded, coached, and amplified by corporate power that fears global regulation, climate policy, and labor organizing. The alliance between big business and nationalist politicians is the modern incarnation of the 19th‑century “industrialist‑patriot” pact.

Take the United Kingdom’s post‑Brexit “global Britain” mantra. While politicians hawked the slogan of “taking back control,” the British government awarded £4 billion in subsidies to fossil‑fuel firms in 2022, effectively bankrolling climate‑denial (UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, 2022). Meanwhile, trade union membership fell to a historic low of 10 % (ONS, 2023), a direct result of anti‑union legislation championed by nationalist‑aligned lawmakers.

Corporate‑state synergy at a glance:

• Tax loopholes for multinational tech firms → nationalist rhetoric that “foreign corporations are stealing our jobs.”
• Privatization of water in Bolivia (2000s) → nationalist backlash that framed the protest as an attack on sovereignty, not on corporate greed.
• Military‑industrial complex funding → nationalist wars in the name of “defending borders,” while defense contractors reap billions.

The real beneficiaries are not the average citizen defending their culture, but the shareholders whose portfolios swell as regulations fall and public spending is redirected to defense and policing. The nationalist narrative conveniently obscures the flow of money, allowing the elite to claim they are “serving the people” while siphoning wealth.

Misinformation Playbook: Lies About Nationalism You’ve Been Sold

The battle over nationalism is fought as much in the courtroom of public opinion as on the streets. Both the right‑wing media machine and the left‑leaning “progressive” outlets have peddled unverified claims that muddy the truth.

False Claim #1: “Nationalism is inherently anti‑elitist”

• Why it’s a lie: Surveys from the Pew Research Center (2022) show that 68 % of nationalist party voters in the U.S. and Europe support higher taxes on the wealthy, yet the parties themselves oppose progressive taxation and lobby for corporate tax cuts (Transparency International, 2023). The narrative of “people vs. elite” is a strategic façade.

False Claim #2: “Nationalism protects workers’ jobs”

• Why it’s a lie: After the 2016 Brexit vote, the UK’s manufacturing employment fell by 5 % (ONS, 2020), while immigration‑restriction rhetoric did little to halt the automation wave. Protectionist tariffs advocated by nationalist leaders often raise consumer prices, hitting low‑income families hardest.

False Claim #3: “All anti‑globalist sentiment is a response to climate crisis”

• Why it’s a lie: Climate‑denial groups have funded nationalist parties to block climate legislation (Carbon Tracker, 2021). The claim that “nationalists love the planet” is misleading; many nationalist platforms oppose renewable energy subsidies, framing them as “foreign technology”.

The evidence contradicts the myth

• Fact: In 2021, 70 % of EU citizens supported stronger climate action (Eurobarometer, 2021), yet nationalist parties voted against the European Green Deal.
• Fact: No credible source confirms that nationalist movements lead to higher living standards for the working class; on the contrary, OECD data links rising nationalist votes with widening income inequality (OECD, 2022).

The misinformation isn’t a one‑sided attack; it’s a coordinated strategy that keeps the public confused, preventing collective action against the true culprits: corporate extraction and state repression.

Resistance Rising: Collective Power Against the Nationalist Machine

If nationalism is a story of power and resistance, the resistance must be organized, intersectional, and rooted in public investment. The history books are filled with moments when workers, community groups, and environmental activists turned the tide against nationalist exploitation.

• Poland’s 2020 Women’s Strike (over abortion rights) mobilized over 1 million people, forcing the government to delay restrictive legislation (Human Rights Watch, 2020).
• The Sunrise Movement in the U.S. built a massive youth climate coalition that helped push the Green New Deal onto the national agenda, directly challenging nationalist‑backed fossil‑fuel interests (SDS, 2021).
• Spain’s “Catalan Left” combined labor unions with independence activists, creating a dual front against both central government authoritarianism and neoliberal austerity (El País, 2019).

The blueprint for effective resistance is clear:

• Public investment in affordable housing, universal healthcare, and quality education undermines the fear‑based appeal of nationalist “protect the nation” slogans.
• Strong labor unions negotiate living wages and safety standards, cutting the vulnerability that nationalist demagogues exploit.
• Community‑owned renewable energy projects break the corporate grip on the energy sector, offering tangible alternatives to the “nationalist” narrative of “foreign technology”.

Action checklist for readers:

• Join or support a local union – collective bargaining is the most proven method to raise wages and improve conditions.
• Donate to community land trusts – they preserve affordable housing and prevent gentrification driven by nationalist‑friendly developers.
• Participate in climate justice rallies – link the fight against climate change with anti‑nationalist solidarity.

The fight is not about individual “patriotism” but about collective power that can rewrite the story of nationalism from a tale of oppression to one of liberation.

Sources

• From Crisis to Nationalism? The Conditioned Effects of the COVID-19 Crisis on Neo-nationalism in Europe (PMC)
• Is Nationalism on the Rise? Assessing Global Trends (Taylor & Francis Online)
• Nationalism News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation
• Pew Research Center – Nationalism and Global Attitudes (2022)
• OECD – Income Inequality and Political Populism (2022)