Relationship Between Religion and Nationalism

A detailed Summary of Relationship Between Religion and Nationalism

Marxist literature has forever emphasized the role that production and consumption have had on the making of social and cultural identity. Consumption could be viewed as the production of identities and by using this concept it could be understood how economics and culture affect one another. An economic act is simultaneously a cultural act and vice versa. Consumption is a universal process that makes life possible while production is related to survival with preconceptions of consumption in mind.

In some parts of the world consumption exceeds production because "while every man, woman, and child is a consumer, only some men and women are producers." (Mazrui, 1990, 68) Children and the elderly are considered to be consumers because both groups are either too young or too old to contribute anything meaningful to their community. "In some Third World countries pure consumers outnumber producers with chronic or expanding unemployment and a majority of the population below 15 years of age." (Mazrui, 1990, 68)

Although consumption in some parts of the world is higher than the norm, the basic consumer needs in other parts is not being met. As a result, a gap began to form between the rich and the poor. The rich who lived beyond th

Culture could also effect economics. Mazrui stated how after the death of the prophet Muhammad the Islamic region, which consisted of only Mecca and Medina, expanded to create its own Muslim empire, which spread through three different continents. Before this "territorial expansion" the Islamic region was on the verge of having both socialist and capitalist economies, but due to the expansion the Muslim empire choose to adopt the Asiatic mode of production.

Another example of economics affecting culture is the Islamic transition from one kind of economy to another. The Muslim economy during the nineteen hundreds moved from a date and camel economy to a petroleum economy. This change brought about a change in the culture of the Islamic society. The move was one from self-sufficiency to dependency on the outside world, which caused the culture to shift from its traditional form and embrace modernity.

During the late twentieth century intraregional trade became more common than interregional trade. States within certain regions needed to cooperate with each other due to their geographical location and similar culture. "Military alliances and economic associations require cooperation among their members, cooperation depends on trust, and trust most easily springs from common values and culture." (Huntington, 1996, 131) Cultural cooperation is necessary in order for there to be any kind of economic cooperation. Th

Some common words found in the essay are:
Third World, East Asia, Mecca Medina, , European Union, Muhammad Islamic, Development12 August, United Mexico, Mazrui Ali, Huntington Samuel, rich poor, mazrui 1990 68, mazrui 1990, trade regions, using concept, islamic region, culture islamic, huntington 1996, food shelter, muslim empire, 1990 68,

Approximate Word count = 960
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous