Ole Nymoen
The question is: What kind of sovereignty is that? The sovereignty of the state is the sovereignty of a ruling force over the people who live in the state. And the only reason people are pitted against one another in wars is because these sovereigns, called “states,” are constantly redefining what they claim for themselves, constantly trying to expand their claim to power. I’d say that these claims to sovereignty of competing nation-states are the cause of the miserable conditions that most of the people in the world live in. That’s true not only with regard to military matters but also economic ones.
States only engage in military conflict in exceptional cases. As a rule, the competition plays out in economics. If the German state wants to ensure its competitiveness — we could also say, ensure its economic sovereignty — then it has to be ready to reduce unemployment benefits for people. Then Volkswagen cuts pay for its employees again, because production is cheaper somewhere else in the world. So I don’t believe that this world of competing sovereigns is good for the people who live in it.
And to say, “I have my sovereignty if I’m ruled by someone from my own people” is to me nonsense. I don’t feel like I have sovereignty when German chancellor Friedrich Merz dismantles the welfare state. I also don’t feel like I have sovereignty when the government builds up the military, and the economy is turned into a war economy — quite the opposite.
Great Job Ole Nymoen & the Team @ Jacobin Source link for sharing this story.
