> racial identity < Many still make a big deal out of linking that to national identity today. > Religious identity < Back in the 17th century, many consider

> racial identity < Many still make a big deal out of linking that to national identity today. > Religious identity < Back in the 17th century, many considered that it was a good idea to combine religious and national identity. There were just too many intra-national disputes, attempts to blow up Parliament, beheadings, etc. Religious freedom was seen as a good idea when it meant the right to leave a kingdom that had a religion that would not tolerate you to go to a kingdom that would. > Corporate identity < As corporations become more powerful than nations, it seems inevitable that international political organizations of corporations will emerge to govern the exercise of the powers that nations no longer dare to exercise. Think of these as the Corporate Security Council and Corporate General Assembly. These systems of identity and power come and go. Given the rate of change and disruption we see, that the current system of national identity and purpose will prevail indefinitely is not certain. At present, we justify our allegiance to states or alliances with our beliefs that to do so is moral and to do otherwise may be treasonous. But our citizenship is most often determined by the relationship between our place of birth and lines on a map, neither of which has any obvious link to moral concepts, so the current system has some features that can give us serious identity issues. In the Western world, before the lines on the maps became so important, religions were important, and before that, for which prince one would fight determined nationality, and geographical boundaries were likely to change without notice. Each of the many ways of dividing us up will serve some goals and restrict progress toward other goals. It is possible that we are living in an era in which a new system of nationhood will emerge. We cannot expect to get a good one by accident, so an article to stimulate a little thought about such things is welcome.