The forces of nationalism, democracy, and capitalism dominate contemporary politics.
Nations help organize political communities, identifying who belongs with whom.
Democracy sets forth a just and legitimate way of governing the communities organized by nations. And capitalism sets terms for allocating resources, providing opportunities and discipline. We like to think these forces are compatible, that each uniquely reinforces the other. But such is not necessarily the case, as shown by the recent experience of South Africa. Capitalism and nationalism are not new to South Africa.