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Perhaps the most enlightening statement on this I saw was from Zeev Sternhell who once wrote that the biggest mistake of 20th century philosophers was to underestimate the power of nationalism and other tribal instincts and overestimate rationality.
People can not only die for but they can also live in shithole (sometimes literally) only for even an elusive feeling of their tribe "being in control".
What can you do with such compatriots? 😂