Imagined communities
by Benedict Anderson · first published 1983
63% recommend32% neutral5% critical
Why HN recommends it
Explains how nations and nationalism arose as shared constructs, tying them to the printing press and the nation-state. Suits readers wanting a deeper, more approachable dive into nationalism than videos or articles.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
315 p
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…Thinking Fast and Slow - study after study shows that we exhibit so, so many cognitive biases, as our minds take shortcuts. there are some things you can do to recognize and mitigate these biases. * Imagined Communities - the notion of a "nation" is only 300 years old and has no objective basis, only the fact that a group of people agree that it is a thing.
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗I'm reading Benedict Anderson's Imagined Communities right now and I recommend it for anybody looking for a deeper dive into nationalism than a video series can do.
on “National Identity Is Made Up [video]” ↗FWIW, a more approachable, more concrete conceptual model that explains how much of "reality" is a shared fiction is Benedict Anderson's Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagined_Communities). I've never read Baudrillard's works directly, perhaps because having read Anderson's famous…
on “Ask HN: How close to real life is 'The Matrix' in your opinion?” ↗Lots of books have influenced me over time, but these are some of the books that have a lot of influence over my current mindset: Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid - Douglas Hofstadter Imagined Communities - Benedict Anderson Historical Capitalism - Immanuel Wallerstein Young Man Luther - Erik Erikson
on “Ask HN: What books have changed the way you think? ” ↗…fascinating. * Thinking Fast and Slow - study after study shows that we exhibit so, so many cognitive biases, as our minds take shortcuts. there are some things you can do to recognize and mitigate these biases. Imagined Communities - the notion of a "nation" is only 300 years old and has no objective basis, only the fact that a group of people agree that it is a thing.
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗This has happened to some extent forever, through oral tradition, but manufactured media certainly accelerates the process. If you’re interested in this kind of thing i’d recommend Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson, in which the author analyzes the way nationalism developed with the invention of the printing press. It's a classic text of anthropology and absolutely blew my mind when i read it…
on “David Graeber’s Possible Worlds” ↗to anyone interested, i would recommend Benedict Anderson's book "Imagined Communities" which analyzes this subject and other related history involving the printing press and the development of the nation-state
on “Google Docs will “warn you away from inappropriate words”” ↗> How can nationalities not be true? I've had a university course where Benedict Anderson's "Imagined Communities" was taught: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagined_Communities It's been most interesting. I highly recommend it.
on “Make Believe” ↗…God-fearing Christians instead of "heathens." It's a kind of belief in a specific just order of reality that I don't think I'm in a place in my life journey to feel. There's a fascinating book called Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson that talks about the place nationalism took in the zeitgeist of much of humanity, displacing previous tribe-structuring concepts of shared faith, same-village origin, or vassaldom…
Imagined Communities
on “Ask: Read a book that changed your life? Title?” ↗Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson
on “Ask HN: Do you recall any book or course that made a topic finally click?” ↗I have, I recommend "Imagined Communities," by Benedict Anderson.
on “Tech Bosses Are Letting Dictators Censor What Americans See” ↗…of all the mental tics and obfuscations involved in the construction of artificial national histories as I described in my earlier comment. I agree, all nations are artificial creations. I'd recommend Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson. And never did I claim that a unified Macedonian nation has existed for longer than 144 years (since 1880), so not sure what the "artificial national histories" part is alluding to(?)…
on “On clock faces, 4 is Expressed as IIII, not IV” ↗In this political climate: Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson
on “What's the most radical book you've read?” ↗…probably think "white" when they see me, so in the end that's the category that we have at the moment, nothing wrong with that in and of itself as long as you treat others with respect. I hear that "Imagined Communities" is a good read about the rise of different nation-feelings in recent centuries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagined_Communities I haven't read it yet myself, though.