Editing SG33SHS-T (section)

=== 30. History Demonstrates a Trend Toward Internationalism ===

What does the historical record tell us about this issue? The most remarkable emergence of social ideologies has always occurred after wars. Taking modern examples, after the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, social ideologies arose in opposition to individualism. Similarly, after the recent world war, social ideologies emerged against nationalism. Although it is true that these developments are still incomplete in practice, this fact clearly indicates the potential for the development of internationalism. It is true that recent times have seen a notable resurgence of nationalism worldwide. However, this is a reactionary phenomenon and cannot be seen as a negation of the necessity of internationalism. On the contrary, it underscores the need for a higher level of development in internationalism. The phenomenon of nationalism does not arise naturally from the masses. Rather, it is an unnatural phenomenon that results from the conscious efforts of ruling classes, motivated by their own interests, to suppress and manipulate the socialist and internationalist consciousness and movements that have emerged strongly among the general population. While it may be temporarily possible to impose nationalist dams that impede the flow of rivers and exploit them for capitalist profit, the flowing waters have not ceased their resistance in their pursuit of the vast ocean.

Even the recent advocacy of state socialism<ref>Seno’o uses the term ''kokka shakaishugi'' 国家社会主義, which might also be translated as “national socialism.” Even admitting the blurred distinctions between national and state socialist ideologies in the early 1930s—which is perhaps especially notable in Japan, with the work of writers such as Kita Ikki 北一輝 (1883–1937) and Takabatake Motoyuki 高畠素之 (1886–1928)—Seno’o has made it clear in other writings that he has no tolerance for anything that smacks of fascism.</ref> is not evidence of the impossibility of internationalism. Rather, it can be seen as a socialist modification of nationalism, and in essence, a step toward approaching internationalism. We should pause and observe the overall trajectory of human history. What do the collapse of monarchies and the transition to republics and democratic nations in modern times signify? These phenomena should be seen as a reckoning of nationalism and an anticipation of the potential for internationalism. Entities such as the League of Nations, established in 1920, may have been a league of capitalist nations with inherent contradictions, deceits, and inadequacies, but it still provided a glimpse of internationalism. Indeed, it is said, “When a hundred rivers enter the sea, they share the same salty taste. When [people of] the four castes enter Buddhism, they become one as followers of Śākya [Buddha].”<ref>While there are a number of references to this quotation online, I have been unable to locate its original source.</ref> The ideal of “universal solidarity” is by no means a mere fantasy.