# is nationalism is a dead end?

With the birth of the [[Soviet Union]] in the beginning of the 20th century, the question of [[left nationalism]] was born: how should leftists think about race and nationality and resolve that problem?

Personally, I think given the history of the 20th century, the [[anarchists]] have the right answer: left national projects are, for the most part, a dead end. Although a left nationalist project may lead to some short term gains, all it does in the long-run is empower the local bourgeoisie.

Breaking up imperial entities into nations makes sense to a certain extent though: the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into several entities was the correct short-term move. Similarly, it would make sense to create a [[Palestinian]] nation distinct from [[Israel]].

However, when the Soviet Union reified nationality, this ended up being simply a long road to [[fascism]], as recent history has borne out.

Is the way out a creation of a new identity? Or simply the elimination of race and nationality?