As the struggle between globalists — people who uphold secular rational values — and nationalists — people who believe country and culture are worth preserving — reaches a high point in the United States and Europe, I wonder which world embraces more of an existential mindset. Would Meursault prefer to live in a society divided along national, ethnic, religious, and racial lines or would he fit better in a world free of these boundaries? The answer, to me, is quite obvious. Meursault's existential perspective would better fit in a globalist society than a nationalist one.
Existentialism values, first and foremost, individualism. The ability to form oneself subjectively, utterly separated from the grip of societal structures and norms, is existentialism at its most extreme. To be clear, globalists are not reaching for this radical state of nature. However, like existentialists, they transcend social norms to achieve a higher level of individualism. Individualism, to globalists, is a separation from traditional values and social structures that perpetuate inequality. The ability to marry freely and trade freely and immigrate freely does not destroy these respective institutions; rather, it breaks down the barriers within them that discriminate against certain geographic areas, races, or religions.
In The Stranger, Meursault's radical expression of his true feelings stirs a deep fear in many people around him. They fear his refusal to adhere to societal norms — particularly religion, family, and love — because they cower at the prospect that there treasured values are meaningless. Nationalists, in many ways, feel the same about the growing influence of globalism. When Europe opened its borders to Syrian refugees and African migrants, the backlash was an uptick in nationalism. Nationalists fear that foreign migrants will disrupt traditional Western values and social structures. Many of their concerns are well founded, but their demands come at the cost of further perpetuating inequality and in some cases racism. There's a reason nationalists despise globalists, and political correctness is just the surface. Underneath the surface, nationalists fear the disruption to country and culture that globalists leave in their wake.
This post is very interesting to me, and it brings up a lot of questions. I agree that Meursault is very detached from traditional societal values, which fits in more with a globalist perspective. However, you mentioned that nationalists' demands come at the cost of 'perpetuating inequality and in some cases racism.' Is this not what Meursault does when he participates in Raymond's scheme to further abuse his mistress, and to murder an Arab man, whom he only views as a violent and mysterious other? Meursault may not willingly align himself with racism and sexism, but is being apathetic towards the two not perpetuating traditional, oppressive values (and thus aligning himself, despite apathetically, with a more nationalist point of view)?
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