Civilizational state – can American become one?

Nearly three years ago a new term gained currency in commentary on global affairs: civilizational state. Those who coined the term, did so in fear that the vision of one species, one world, one government, a vision they clearly supported, would die. They also snidely accused Donald J. Trump of trying to build such a state in America. Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. Vladimir Putin definitely is trying to build a civilizational state in Russia. Is Xi Jinping trying to build that in China, or does he have ambitions for world conquest? Only time will answer that. But today CNAV seeks to answer this question: can America become a civilizational state? And if so, must America sacrifice any territory to make that happen?

What is a civilizational state?

A civilizational state is any state that calls itself a civilization in its own right. Such a state seeks to preserve for itself and its citizens (or subjects) integrity not only of territory but also of values. Those values address virtually everything about a civilization and how to live in it:

• How does the society govern itself and its people?
• Are the regular residents of the civilizational state true citizens, or are they subjects?
• Who does, and who does not, rate inclusion in and admission to the civilization and the state that embodies it?
• What exceptional qualities set the state and its members apart from other states and non-nationals?
• Does the civilizational state welcome immigration, alien residency, and/or trade, or does it not?

In seeking definitions of a civilizational state, CNAV advises against relying on Wikipedia. Their entry (“Civilization State”), as of this writing, is little more than a stub. Even the moderators consider it poorly sourced. The entry cites China, Egypt (trying to tie in with ancient Egypt), India, and Russia as current examples. But it also offers this criticism, which offers a clue to the civilizational state and how it works. To be specific, it

1. Rejects any concept of universality of human rights, and
2. Excludes minority groups who do not share the defining characteristics of the members of the civilization.

Therefore a civiliizational state judges itself on its own terms and rejects out-of-hand any attempt by others to judge it.

What other kinds of state exist?

Besides the civilizational state, the world knows two other kinds of state, or arguably three. The nation-state is the most common, and one of the oldest. In the days of the Roman Republic, the Mediterranean world called such a state a kingdom. The word in the common Greek of the region, that translates as nation in the writings of Paul of Tarsus, Matthew, John Mark, Luke, John of Jerusalem, and their colleagues, is ethnos. This means a group to which all members relate by blood or marriage. In short, it is a group into which one is born. Hence nation, which derives from the Latin verb meaning to be born.

The best definer of the modern nation-state was Emmerich de Vattel, author of Le Droit des Gens – the Law of Nations. He defined not only the concept country but the concept citizen or native.

A nation-state maintains a discreet border and insist that one ask permission to cross. If you can cross a border without permission, that border does not enclose a nation-state. Thus the United States is a nation-state, but the States within it are not nation-states.

In contrast stands the empire, which seeks to control the world. Its leaders do not know where to stop. Alexander the Great did not, and neither did Julius Caesar. An empire expands to the limits of its communications network, supply chain, and ability to project military power. Rome was an empire. Britain had an Empire.

The third kind of state

If a third alternative to the civilizational state exists, then the city-state qualifies. Today only one modern example of the city-state exists: Singapore. Vatican City does not count, for not only is it not sovereign, but some would call it a city-empire. But in the ancient Greek world, city-states were the rule. The most famous of these included Athens, Mycenae – and Troy. Rome began as a city-state and transformed itself into an empire.

Discussion of the civilizational state

The earliest possible discussion of either the concept civilizational state or any country that could qualify as one, appeared in Foreign Affairs in its fall 1990 edition. But first to use the term civilizational state was Martin Jacques, in 2011. More modern scholars who have used that term include Adrian Pabst (The New Statesman) and the staff of the Financial Times. Both these articles appeared in 2019.

These scholars all discuss China, which they view with varying degrees of bemusement or, at the extreme, horror. Yes, they shudder to think of this big country refusing to conform to their ideals of human liberty. But one cannot believe any judgment they make. Why not? Because they are all shills for the new empire that is trying to replace the Roman Empire.

In fact, John of Jerusalem – and earlier than that, Daniel Belteshazzar, senior adviser to Nebuchadnezzar the Great – warned specifically about this new empire. Daniel called it the “feet of iron mixed with clay” of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. John called it the “beast that was, and is not,” in his vision of the Harlot (or Madam) of Babylon. This new empire is the World Economic Forum, that has Klaus Schwab as its current chairman. (Klaus Schwab – what an apt name! “Conqueror of the people!” That is what the name Nicholas means – and Nicholas and Klaus are the same name.)

And those same people hate any country trying to be a civilizational state in apparent imitation of China.

What states qualify today?

Today, CNAV recognizes only three true civilizational states: the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, and the People’s Republic of China. In citing China, CNAV puts an asterisk by it. We have to ask ourselves whether China wants to become an empire. The China Belt and Road Initiative, and their outright buying of ports outside its territory, suggest the latter. So does the spectacle of China trying to build reefs into islands to extend their territorial claims.

But again: though Americans would have reason to fear any foreign empire, they ignore the real empire right under their noses. And the shills for that empire will naturally throw off on China, which has rejected their overtures.

Apparently, modern Egypt seeks to qualify as a civilizational state. Perhaps some of its leaders always did, starting with Jamal abd al-Nasr (“Gamal Abdel Nasser”). The problem with that, is that those who live in Egypt today have nothing in common with those who lived there in the days of the Pharaohs, or even in the days of the Prolemies and the Cleopatras. The Copts are the exception – and those who run Egypt today, actively discriminate against them.

But Russia definitely is a civilizational state – or at least, Vladimir Putin wants to make it one. The leaders of India want the same thing. So the spectacle of Russia, China and India building a mutual financial exchange network should surprise no one. That applies, war in Ukraine or no war.

Can the United States be a civilizational state?

Pabst accuses Donald J. Trump of wanting that. Accuses because Pabst does not want civilizational states. He is a shill for the empire that is the World Economic Forum, and its fronts we call the United Nations, NATO, and others. Trump would no doubt boast of building a civilizational state in America.

But can we do it? Even Dr. Steven Turley, one of the best “America First” commentators today, is not ready to say Yes.

Before we can even answer the question, we must answer another: what would it take? Again, to be a civilizational state is to forbear, forswear, and forgo any notion of building an empire. The trouble with empire building is having no borders within it. The fictitious “Panem” of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games franchise would never fly. The capital territory must be open to everyone. Julius Caesar understood that. Maybe that, besides petty jealousy, drove the Kill Caesar Club.

A civilizational state is self-sufficient. It grows everything, makes everything, builds everything within its own borders. (That’s why the State of Israel cannot qualify – they lack the industry.) Imports are rare – and immigration is rarer still. Membership in the civilizational state is by invitation only. Remember: the civilizational state promotes core values that everyone accepts. If you cannot accept them, leave. This follows logically from forswearing empire: part of having borders is respecting the borders of others.

How America stacks up

America has the territory, and most of the resources. What resources America lacks, America can make up for. It might require asteroid and meteoroid mining, or mining the slopes of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Such things might be beyond current technology but not beyond the laws of physics. So what we don’t know how to do, we can figure out.

But! Can American values prevail? Too many people, especially in certain areas of the country, don’t want any set of American values. “American exceptionalism” became a dirty phrase to them in the Elections of 2016 and 2020. Many of these people want to live under the Klaus Schwab empire, because Schwab promises “tolerance” to things that in fact defy nature. (Schwab might in fact be perfectly copacetic with this, because he and his friends think the earth has too many people on it, anyway.)

Have a look at current events in this regard. Texas, of course, passed its Heartbeat Act. Florida passed a bill forbidding the teaching of “alternative lifestyles” to the youngest children. Texas leaders even want to prosecute as child abusers anyone who sends their children to doctors for surgical mutilation and hormonal poisoning. Idaho came close to passing such a law last week.

But Washington State forbids anything like a Texas Heartbeat Act. California declares itself a refuge for people who want to mutilate and hormonally poison their children. And Walt Disney Enterprises is in a crisis of staff conscience over the new Florida law.

Would a civilizational state require a national divorce?

Perhaps we should revisit Marjorie Taylor Greene’s national divorce proposal. Briefly, she proposed that current “red” and “blue” States agree to have different leaders and different sets of laws. The major difficulty with that scenario is that the red-State and blue-State areas are non-contiguous. Alaska and Hawaii don’t count here. If you can cross from one part of your territory to another through international waters and airspace only, that’s as good as being able to drive overland or over a bridge. That goes double when you have the most powerful Navy in the world.

The best information on where to draw the boundaries of a new United States are the county-by-county maps from the Elections of 2016 and 2020. Even then, a definitive statement might have to wait for Midterms. The reason: voter’s remorse, even more than the new election-integrity laws in half the States.

Massachusetts, Vermont, (sadly) New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, (maybe) New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, Oregon, and Calfornia are lost causes. (For New Jersey, wait until Midterms.) Virginia redeemed itself in its Pre-Midterm. New Mexico and Arizona become toss-ups. Texas might become the new capital State if America gives up Washington, D.C. Alaska is a toss-up, given the RINO problem. (Their RINO At-large Representative just died, but Lisa Murkowski might squeeze in through a jungle primary with ranked-choice voting.) Hawaii might as well become an independent Kingdom under a House of Hirono – or Obama. New York would have to divide.

How to redraw the map

The new map of North America would define the Civilizational United States and a North American Polity or “New Aztlán” loyal to Emperor Klaus (Schwab). Let’s exclude the western or coastal regions of Washington State, Oregon, and California. Everyone east of the San Andreas Fault would join the new Civilizational United States. Nevada might give up Las Vegas – or might not. Surprisingly, Texas would have no trouble keeping its southern border. (Voter’s remorse again.) The Twin Cities might become a dual city-state. Megalopolis USA, which runs from Boston to Washington, would become the center of New Aztlán. So might Richmond, Virginia and most of its television market – but not Hanover or Western Chesterfield County.

Alaska might join the Civilizational United States for another reason. The “Woke Crowd” might leave Alaska after a last-gasp effort to force a vote to surrender it to the Inuit. Those that remain, would want the protection of the United States Army and Navy. This after Member of Duma Oleg Matveychyev demanded Alaska back. Alaska’s governor replied:

Good luck with that!

If Hawaii wants to become a Kingdom again, let it. Senator Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) actually proposed something that would smooth the trail for that. Senator Maisie Hirono (D-Hawaii) now holds his seat. But let’s not neglect Barack Obama. A battle royal between “Queen Maisie” and “King Barack” might be very interesting to watch.

Wither New Aztlán? Possibly joining a Woke Canada – as Alberta and Saskatchewan (and eastern British Columbia) join the United States.

Conclusion

So the answer is yes. But it takes some out-of-the-box thinking – and realizing that all human institutions can change. The Woke Crowd, having poured contempt on the Constitution of the United States, cannot claim its protection now. So if a civilizational United States wants to claim eastern Washington and Oregon (as part of Greater Idaho), fine! Likewise if a new reunited Virginia wants the three western counties of Maryland, while giving up Richmond, also fine. Same with Upstate New York parting ways with New York City and Long Island.

Mass migration is already taking place. Recall that California has so many people moving out that U-Haul must take heavy losses on one-way rentals going into California to have trucks to serve those moving out.

And what of companies who disdain American civilizational state values, and move out? Well, America can then do what Russia is now doing: nationalize certain of their properties. Walt Disney World would be an obvious candidate. Considering a recent crime scandal involving some Walt Disney staff, that might come none too soon.

Nor would this necessarily end the matter. Because the United States, as a civilizational state, would reverse its population decline. New Aztlán, or a Canada after territorial swaps, would go into demographic winter. Eventually the United States would reclaim its lost territory by default – if the survivors didn’t apply for re-admission.