The State vs. The Nation

[Douglas Mercer]

The state is a means, not an end. And even your own state, if it defective or unnatural, can be a deadly enemy.

by Wolf Stoner
National Vanguard Russian correspondent

Mainstream people tend to overestimate the role of the state. This is especially the case in societies with centuries-long totalitarian traditions. Russia is the best example. People there perceive the state as an omnipotent all-seeing dragon that can crush anyone who stands in its way. The Russian state has acquired a kind of religious, untouchable status.

But even in seemingly free countries we can see similar tendencies. American society, too, suffers from this misperception of reality, ascribing to the state some kind of supernatural, divine qualities. Manifestations of this state-worship are less ludicrous in the West than in Russia, but the effects are no less harmful.

The main pernicious effect of over-reliance on the state is the reduction of the best human qualities: independence, self-sufficiency, strength of body and mind, and a high level of personal and social responsibility.

It would not be an exaggeration to claim that all the best qualities of the White man were forged in the epoch before any state existed. States emerged much later and used those useful qualities to their advantage.

At first, when the states were ethnic, the relations between people and the state were symbiotic; meaning that both sides equally benefited from them. Both the ruling class and society played their respective roles for the common benefit.

But at some point, states started to grow into something more than they should be. From being a mere useful mechanism of social self-organization, whose sole purpose was to advance common ethnic interests, some states gradually shifted into serving the interests of a small part of society to the detriment of the vast majority. Partly because of this, the so-called labor movement emerged in the second half of the 19th century. Society was split into mutually hostile classes. This rift was exploited by the old racial enemies of Europe. This process is perfectly described in Hitler’s book.

We must understand the following axiom: The state isn’t holy. It isn’t untouchable. It must never be equated with the ethnos, let alone the race. This mistake is especially widespread in Russia, where the vast majority of people perceive their ethnic identity and their citizenship as synonymous. This mistake is akin to the false generalization of the term “religion” to mean “Christianity.” When you say “religion,” many in our cultures imagine that you must be referring to Christianity.

These misperceptions play a great role in determining collective behavior.

If in the religious field our main task is to divorce the term “religion” from Christianity, the main task in the political field is to tear away this holy cover from the state, under which it conceals its rotten ugliness.

Modern states and ethnic/racial interests have nothing in common. The last true ethnic state was annihilated 80 years ago. The whole modern globalist system is built on denial of White identity. Therefore, everyone who serves the interests of the state, automatically promotes and abets this anti-White agenda.

Proceeding from this understanding, our goal must be to disengage from the state as much as possible.

The state isn’t something holy; it is only an instrument that is supposed to be in the hands of an ethnos. When this instrument, for some reason, ceases to be useful, or even becomes harmful, it must be replaced. The state is nothing; the race is everything. The state must serve the race’s interests, not the other way around.

The laughable tendency of many White Americans to worship the state and its symbols, like the flag, is utterly counterproductive. It allows our enemies to manipulate public opinion in any direction. It is enough to proclaim gravely on TV that “the interests of the United States” require such and such measures and a gullible crowd instantly approves anything, even openly criminal infringement on civil freedoms (as after 2001 under the Bush administration).

The main problem of modern Whites is their loss of a healthy ethnic mentality, under which everything would be evaluated from a position of “what does this mean for my people?”

The crooked elite have intentionally subverted the very term “nation” in order to undermine true ethnic/racial identity. They started to call the whole multiracial crowd, including all manner of invading races, a “nation” — as long as all held newly issued US passports.

It is well known that in the original sense the terms “ethnos” and “nation” described a group of people of similar ancestry and common culture. Any deviation from this definition is a malicious subversion.

White people must clearly say to themselves: “All those brown/black creatures have nothing to do with us; they are not a part of our nation; they don’t belong here; they must go, one way or another.” That is the first step of mental recovery.

The second step is to understand the secondary role of the state. The mainstream misperception is that the state is powerful because it has so many enforcement agencies and surveillance agents and technologies. That is not so. The real power of any state is in people’s minds. The moment you cease to worship the state, it ceases to exist. Yes, only locally, only around you — but that is the first victory. If you have successfully defeated the state inside your mind, then you can spread this victory further afield. The more people realize this power, the sooner the state falls.

Yet another misperception is to ascribe too much power to the masses. Public opinion matters, but only to a limited extent. What really matters is the opinion of the few best people of the nation. The ideas and vision of the natural racial aristocracy matters most. Their opinion trumps all other factors, be it the conformist bleating of mainstream sheep or the malicious threats of law enforcement agencies. If the racial aristocracy (those with the best inborn racial qualities, not necessarily those with inherited high social status) come to a united and strong consensus on the main issues, and decide to act in the needed direction, there is no force in this world that could stop them.

Our task is to replace the existing state with our own racial state. Not on a grand scale yet, but in small gradual steps; starting with maximum self-reliance and social disengagement from mainstream society. The only connection that should remain with the outside world is an economic one. We need money and some services from them, nothing more. We ourselves can define our values and establish our way of life. We don’t need a rotten society to dictate to us how to live. We must function as a self-contained racial diaspora — without publicly proclaiming it or notifying authorities or gaining any permissions. We don’t need any bureaucrats to “allow” us to be White people.

Many are not ready for this. They fear losing their connection to the larger society; like a lonely lamb fears to lag behind his flock. This psychological barrier must be overcome. It isn’t easy for those who are deeply rooted in the existing society; but there are no easy shortcuts. We either go our own way, or lose our identity. This will inevitably necessitate cutting many ties with institutions, associates, and acquaintances; sometimes even with relatives and close friends. Many of them are not ready to share, or even tolerate, our vision.

In this respect the Bible’s tale about Sodom and Gomorrah is a good illustration. There are only two options: Either you go out and save yourself or remain with the crowd and die. (It should be noted that Christianity, especially its modern incarnation, is an alien anti-racial ideology. But the Bible is a compendium of all kinds of fables plagiarized by the Jewish authors from different tribes, and has no definite ideology. There are plenty of interesting observations in it, alongside the racial poison and nonsense. It is useful to read the Bible as any other ancient literature, without ascribing to it any divine status.)

The modern American dilemma is similar to that of the citizens of Gomorrah. It is impossible to survive without disengaging from mainstream society — first, on an informational level; afterward, in all other aspects.

The first step is to cease to be a consumer of popular culture. The whole entertainment business in the West is directed at making people dumb, morally corrupt, and weak. Their main task is to promote all kinds of vices and an immoral lifestyle, and to prevent independent thinking. It is impossible to fight the System without breaking away from the influence of pop culture.

Mental liberation is the first step in this struggle. When your mind is no longer captive to alien influence, you can start to think independently and see the situation as it really is, not as it is presented by media liars.

This liberation formula is simple to formulate but more difficult to apply in real life, as is the case with many scientific concepts. But there is no other way. Either we take our own new direction or we remain passive, doomed victims of the hostile system.

What is the state, in its simplest original form? Even a small group of people needs some kind of self-organization. The basic principles of governance are used on the family level, and in small communities and worker cooperatives. This is where the state originates. It is where we must start, too. To organize a small group of people according to our vision is tantamount to conceiving a new state. World-historical events start from small beginnings.

The main battlefield is in our minds. If we win there, then no one can stop us.

In order to better understand the source of real power, look at the USSR. It was the strongest and most malevolent empire in history. At the peak of its might, its influence spread throughout the whole world; its agents wrought chaos in every part of this planet, even the most remote regions.

But at some point, this monster simply collapsed — without war or any appreciable external actions. What was the cause? At some point, people simply stopped worshiping this monster; stopped believing its nonsense. And that was the end of the beast. It dropped dead without a single bullet fired. Its tens of thousands of tanks, its multi-million man army, and the world’s largest military-industrial complex didn’t help it. Its demise is a perfect example to teach us where lies the primary source of any power: not in the dead metal chunks of missiles and aircraft carriers and surveillance satellites, but in our minds. That is where the repository of all state power is located. We can create a state, and we can abolish it. Once we understand this power we can start to use it.

[Douglas Mercer]

Wolf: Will tells me that Greg Johnson at Counter Currents has agreed to publish the essay State vs. Nation. Hopefully he will follow through on this promise as this essay, like all you write, deserves as wide an exposure as possible.

[Douglas Mercer]

[Will Williams]

Wolf: Will tells me that Greg Johnson at Counter Currents has agreed to publish the essay State vs. Nation. Hopefully he will follow through on this promise as this essay, like all you write, deserves as wide an exposure as possible.

Greg posted it today, here: https://counter-currents.com/2025/02/th ... he-nation/ It already got two quick comments and will get more. In due time Wolf can digest the comments and explain what he means by the new "elites": we, the National Alliance. When he wrote the following he is speaking for us, describing the Alliance's template for first separating from the herd, then organizing according to our vision, not someone else's.

What is the state, in its simplest original form? Even a small group of people needs some kind of self-organization. The basic principles of governance are used on the family level, and in small communities and worker cooperatives. This is where the state originates. It is where we must start, too. To organize a small group of people according to our vision is tantamount to conceiving a new state. World-historical events start from small beginnings...