If You Believe You Are a Citizen of the World, You Are A Citizen of Nowhere

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“If you believe you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere. You don’t understand what citizenship means.”

When Theresa May uttered these words at the Tory party conference in 2016, there was uproar. May was targeting the liberal establishment, who flit business class from Mayfair to Monaco, from Davos to Doha; those in positions of power, who, as May put it, ‘behave as though they have more in common with international elites than with the people down the road’.

But many people who don’t fit in this frequent flyer category felt under attack too. For this group, believing you are a citizen of the world is a badge of honour, not shame. The cosmopolitan impulse, they believe, isn’t about loyalty to any single community. On the contrary, you can be a citizen of your street, your city, your country and the entire globe. And in our interconnected world, those with a burning concern for global justice, for the environment, for the strife and carnage happening beyond our borders, see themselves as part of humanity at large – as citizens of the world.

But for a different group of people, May’s words resonated deeply. These are the people who feel genuinely rooted in their communities, who feel the strongest sense of solidarity with those who share their history, language and other elements of a common culture. These people often feel sneered at as nationalists or worse, as bigots, by the elites who do not understand their profound intuition that the nation state is the natural expression of group identity.

To unpack these divisions at the heart of contemporary politics, Intelligence Squared is bringing together Simon Schama, one of Britain’s most celebrated historians, who embodies the cosmopolitan spirit; and Elif Shafak, the Turkish novelist and commentator, who calls herself a ‘world citizen and a global soul’. Joining them will be the author David Goodhart, whose bestseller The Road To Somewhere identifies two tribes –’Somewheres’, who feel strong local and national attachments, and ‘Anywheres’, global villagers who value autonomy and mobility; and David Landsman, a former diplomat now in the corporate world, who is concerned about the growing intellectualisation of work, which is widening the gap between the professional classes and everyone else.

[joshjones]

the coronavirus has dramatically revealed the importance of "Somewhere"

[JasonFavrod]

Elif says she rejects the premise of in-group/out-group that nationalism is based upon, but then goes on to say she likes being a member of multiple groups. She can't eat her cake and have it too. Groups are defined by membership rules. You cannot remove those rules and maintain the groups. This is exactly May's point.

[Convincing_Reality]

Using a poll from 2011 concerning how people of the UK feel about their country is an odd choice. A lot can happen in 7 years, such as the Scottish Independence referendum, the Brexit referendum and a number of terrorist attacks to name but a few points of interest.

[TheLivirus]

"Mr. Deutscher, what are your roots?"
"I'm a Jew. Trees have roots, Jews don't; Jews have legs."
Beautifully put haha.

[scotthullinger]

First ot all, let's define precisely what "citizen of the world" might actually mean.
It might not be obvious.

[Chris-ozqx]

We’re citizens of the World say the 99% white middle class audience. How many have lived in the slums of Mumbai? How many in the shanty towns in Bangkok or the favelas of Rio? I’m guessing none.


It’s almost a comedy.

[Salamurazeytin]

If you have a EU or Norwegian citizenship, Yes!!! you are citizen of the world but if have are a Syrian citizen or Turkish or Palestinian you are not a citizen of the world..

[TommyLikeTom]

I hate the argument "you should not feel morally superior for holding your views"... Literally everyone feels morally superior for holding their views, because if they didn't they would change their views until they do. The whole reason we hold ethical beliefs is because we find them morally superior to alternatives.

[robertcalamusso]

Nobody is going to raise their hand to the British Change question in public.

[jimbowden]

I can detect the ' wandering ' Jew mindset in Simon Schama, where he is truly " at home " anywhere in the World. Yet, he constantly refers to his " Jewishness " as being the essence of his being. For as long as you do not impinge on his " small hats tribe ". you are fine. What comes to mind is Alexander Solzhynitsyn (1918-2008) when he said: " For Jews, there is nothing more insulting than the TRUTH" .

[politicalphilosophy-thegre]

The League of Nations post-1919, United Nations, European Union, NATO, World Bank, International Monetary Fund etc have done a huge amount to reduce war and conflict. So of course being a citizen of the world is a good thing.

[Al-nydk]

I hope that the Turkish lady would support the notion that Istanbul would be a much better place if more than half the citizens were new non-Turkish arrivals.

[Joey-ctbm]

You're a citizen of the world when you're very rich.

[adelewilson]

I wonder what she thinks about the dichotomy of who is pulling down the statues now. Not exactly the nationalists!

[candycanessongs]

Fail seriously this was a lecture not a debate . You need diversity of thought for debate .

[pramana]

If you're citizen of the world, you're citizen of everywhere! You would respect and engage positively with everyone and all communities regardless of race and religions and dedicated to make the world a better place bc of this global embodiment.

[doctorbritain]

Maybe holding these forums somewhere other than in a metropolitan bubble would be a good idea

[tiermacgirl]

Governments and authorities like to tell you that you are a citizen of their space only. Citizens can be regulated through a combination of rights and responsibilities. If those citizens shift loyalty to a larger vision they might not for example pay national taxes so readily.

[Masilya]

What happens when your people doesnt have a country?

[jean-pierredevent]

To feel as being "Citizen of the world" is easy for us Belgians, since we live in a small, insignificant piece of land that was part of bigger neighbours most of it's history.