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Richard Koenigsberg's "Nations as Bodies" argues that nationalism is a collective dream or fantasy where the nation is perceived not just as a metaphor, but as a real, physical entity—a "body politic". Individuals, feeling fragile, project their own selves into this gigantic, omnipotent national organism, often in a quest to transcend death.
- Sacrifice as Function: Warfare is understood as an activity where individuals (cells) are sacrificed to preserve the life of the larger national entity. The body politic requires the destruction of internal "pathogens" (e.g., Jews) and external enemies to remain coherent.
- The Illusion of Oneness: The "nation as a body" fantasy is a psychological mechanism allowing individuals to feel part of a powerful, unified system, overcoming the loneliness and separation of their own mortal, physical bodies.
- The Corporeal State: Nations are experienced as organisms with physical structures. Borders are regarded as skin or "orifices" that must be sealed to protect against penetration, infiltration, or the corruption of the national body.
- Hitler's Body Politic: Koenigsberg asserts Hitler viewed Germany as a literal "substance of flesh and blood." The Nazi movement aimed to forge an immortal body politic to deny the death of the nation.
Many of Koenigsberg's essays and papers are on the Library of Social Science site and his book Nations Have the Right to Kill explored these ideas in detail, explaining why people act against their own best interests for a national idea.
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