The Social Group Distinction of Nationalists and Globalists amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The primary discussion in this article is the classification of the typical reactions of social groups in various nations as nationalist and globalist. Subject to the new coronavirus pandemic, nationalists have adopted extreme national security policies, namely, “the nation’s interests prevails;” globalists have adopted moderate policies by complying with the faith of society in the recommendations of the scientific community. The disparate contrasts in values and actions between the two groups are extensively manifested in domestic disease control, attitude toward the World Health Organization, identification of the disease’s source, vaccine research, international cooperation, and social reaction. This research indicates that nationalists largely consist of conservative country leaders, “social elites,” populists, and individuals in the middle-lower class, many of whom uphold racism and extreme nationalism, and that globalists largely consist of international organizations and regional leaders, medical practitioners, intellectuals and philanthropic entrepreneurs, the middle-upper class population. This social group distinction is clarified in accordance with converse ethical value perspectives, ideologies, social group-economic interests, and even national competition positions. Regarding cultural and institutional basics, nationalists uphold neoliberalism, social Darwinism, the law of jungle, and individualism, whereas globalists advocate for social democracy and collectivistic ethnic codes. The two parties have been competing for the high moral ground during and the pandemic, thereby profoundly affecting the relationships of nations worldwide.