Nationalism is the main cause of World War One. How and why did it originate? In this talk to his Beijing high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that nationalism was a response to religious, economic, and cultural challenges in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Protestant Reformation produced a crisis of faith in people, and many made the nation-state into their new religion. The Industrial Revolution made the bourgeoisie the new dominant elite, and they demanded property rights that only the nation-state could guarantee. Rapid industrialization and urbanization caused alienation and disorientation, which led people to embrace the nation-state for community and direction. References: 1. Seeing Like a State by James Scott 2. Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson 3. The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau 4. The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt 5. The Open Society by Karl Popper