The Value System of Unevenness
Unevenness becomes a moral category. It is something to be protected and preserved. The moral essence of unevenness is the assertion that certain elements of underdevelopment are more valuable than a state of development. But the masters of semi-detachment have another challenge to meet. Its believers must also separate their societies from each other. Towards their eastern conquerors they try to present themselves as more eastern, i.e. more communist, more pro-Russian, if the conqueror is western, e.g. national socialist Germany, then more pro-German than their neighbour, and in joining the democratic west they try to present themselves as more western, consciously pushing back their neighbours. And if they approach the East and the West at the same time, they argue both ways simultaneously. This attitude also motivates the specific role of nationalism in our region. In our case, the role of national identity is not only the same as it used to be in the most developed parts of Europe, but here in Central Europe it has also had to justify the unevenness of state and society.