The Dying Citizen summary

America has always been a nation of immigrants. In the nineteenth century, great numbers of people flocked to this huge, sparsely populated land. They came in search of greater freedom and opportunity than they’d had back home. By the end of the century, immigrants from all corners of Europe, as well as Latin America and Asia, had set sail for America.

In this blink, we’ll take a look at how all these different nationalities managed to transform themselves into a united people.

In a democratic nation like the United States, you might assume it's the citizens who decide who wields political power. After all, it’s the voters who elect their representatives, and it’s these representatives who ultimately control the state’s apparatuses, right? Well, that’s not exactly the whole story.

In fact, there are many people in the United States who have enormous amounts of political power – and yet were never elected at all. We’re talking about the deep state.

What tribe do you belong to? Until a few years ago, most Americans would have replied that they belonged to only one tribe: that of the United States. But these days, American society is splintering into different tribes divided along ethnic, religious, and racial lines. In this blink, we’ll examine the bloodstained history of tribalism and explore why the United States’ backslide into it is so disturbing.

Let’s start by looking at what history tells us about tribalism. Before there were nation states, there were different tribes that competed and warred with one another. Indeed, throughout most of human history, tribalism was the norm; your tribe consisted of people who looked like you, sounded like you, and lived near you. Anyone else was the enemy.

The US Constitution has served Americans well for over two centuries. But today, a growing number of people want to see the Constitution ripped up. If they succeed, it will be a disaster for democracy – and for the average citizen.

To understand why some people resent the Constitution so much, we have to understand its original purpose. In fact, the founders’ intentions when they drew up the Constitution were a lot narrower than you might assume. The Constitution’s primary purpose was to enshrine the American citizen’s personal freedom and liberty, as well as to protect his property. It was not designed to further egalitarian values, such as greater equity among Americans.

Can you be a citizen of the world and still be a citizen of your home country? In this final blink, we’ll look at modern globalization and its effects on the United States. Let’s start by exploring a fundamental question: What do we mean when we talk about globalization?

Globalization happens when nations begin thinking of themselves as part of a world community. As a result, leaders start putting the interests of this community above the interests of their own nations – or at least start giving them equal consideration.