Editing Constancy Preference (section)

== Contrasting the Two ==

One fairly typical example of these is the notion of what is a nation or cultural unit. Modern ethnonationalist perspectives often emphasize formal constancy - the idea that a nation is defined by unchanging ethnic, linguistic, and cultural characteristics that must be preserved exactly as they are. This view treats national identity as something that should remain formally constant across time. The appearance is what's most important.

But if you look historically, you see something else. Take England as an example. It has forever been English, in some sense. But it was ruled by the Dutch in the case of [[wikipedia:William III of England|William of Orange]]. And then transferred over to the [[wikipedia:House of Hanover|Hanoverians]]. And then to the [[wikipedia:House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]], who then renamed themselves the House of Windsor. But England claims a continuous culture and history, though in some sense it has been colonized just as much as it has colonized.

The Qeng Ho from [[wikipedia:Vernor Vinge|Vernor Vinge's]] books are even more of an example, though fictional. They retain their identity over millennia because of:

* A shared trading culture
* A shared technical protocol
* An adherence to evolution in culture

[[Category:Concepts]]