Nationalism appears in the transition from the agro-literate to the industrial stage of human history. In the second stage, there is no incentive for the ruling classes to impose cultural homogeneity on the masses - indeed, they benefit from diversity as it means that there will be no challenge to their power.
In industrial societies, "a high culture pervades the whole of society, defines it, and needs to be sustained by the polity". In industrial society, the changing nature of work demands cultural homogeneity. There is a need for impersonal, context-free communication.
Tags: Difination
