Often, when talking about a people, we use the word "nation". Along with it, there is a similar concept "ethnos", rather related to the category of special terms. Let's try to identify the main differences between them.
Definition
Nation - spiritual, cultural-political and socio-economic community of the industrial era.
Ethnicity - a group of people with common objective or subjective characteristics.
Comparison
There are two main approaches to understanding the nation. In the first case, it is a political community of citizens of a state, in the second - an ethnic community with a single identity and language. Ethnicity is a group of people with common characteristics, which include origin, culture, language, identity, territory of residence, etc.
A nation, in contrast to an ethnos, has a broader concept, and is also considered a more complex and late formation. This is the highest form of ethnos, which replaced the nationality. If the existence of ethnic groups can be traced in the course of all world history, then the period of the formation of nations was the New and even the Newest time. A nation, as a rule, includes several ethnic groups at once, brought together by historical destiny. For example, the Russian, French, and Swiss nations are multi-ethnic, while the Americans do not have a pronounced ethnicity at all.
According to numerous researchers, the origin of the concepts "nation" and "ethnos" has a different nature. If an ethnos is characterized by stability and repetition of cultural patterns, then the process of self-awareness through the combination of new and traditional elements is important for a nation. Thus, the main value of an ethnos is belonging to a stable group, while a nation strives to reach a new level of development.
Conclusions TheDifference.ru
- A nation is the highest form of an ethnos that has replaced a nation.
- If the existence of ethnic groups can be traced throughout the entire world history, then the period of the formation of nations was the New and even the Newest time.
- A nation, as a rule, includes several ethnic groups at once, brought together by historical destiny.
- The main value of an ethnos is belonging to a stable group, while a nation strives to reach a new level of development.