I Am Currently Reading This Book
Leopold Kohr- The breakdown of nations.
According to Kohr, the main reason why vice, crime, violence, and an imperialistic attitude happen in certain countries more frequently than in others has nothing to do with culture or political systems, but with size. The larger a human community is, the more prone it is to authoritarism and violence. Therefore Kohr suggest dividing the current states in smaller ones, even providing maps of a possible way to carry out this partition.
Kohr's book should be read as a 'small is beautiful' manifesto rather than an essay. His arguments are not always perfectly framed sometimes, and his observations about several countries in certain historical periods are at least dubious.
However, I cannot help being partial towards this book and greatly enjoying it for several reasons. The most important one is the traditionalist/anti-modern spirit that permeates the whole book, and Kohr's overt attraction for Middle Ages. His use of an irony reminiscing of Chesterton's, constantly sparkling in otherwise tough argumentations is quite alluring. Finally, I cannot feeling close to someone who against supranational unifying institutions and stands for individualism against collectivist temptations. Of course those with an opposite vision will feel easily tempted to discard the book, but even for those it provides food for thought to challenge their mindset.
According to Kohr, the main reason why vice, crime, violence, and an imperialistic attitude happen in certain countries more frequently than in others has nothing to do with culture or political systems, but with size. The larger a human community is, the more prone it is to authoritarism and violence. Therefore Kohr suggest dividing the current states in smaller ones, even providing maps of a possible way to carry out this partition.
Kohr's book should be read as a 'small is beautiful' manifesto rather than an essay. His arguments are not always perfectly framed sometimes, and his observations about several countries in certain historical periods are at least dubious.
However, I cannot help being partial towards this book and greatly enjoying it for several reasons. The most important one is the traditionalist/anti-modern spirit that permeates the whole book, and Kohr's overt attraction for Middle Ages. His use of an irony reminiscing of Chesterton's, constantly sparkling in otherwise tough argumentations is quite alluring. Finally, I cannot feeling close to someone who against supranational unifying institutions and stands for individualism against collectivist temptations. Of course those with an opposite vision will feel easily tempted to discard the book, but even for those it provides food for thought to challenge their mindset.
