Nostalgia has long been regarded as a benign feeling, a wistful longing for an idealized past.
However, a recent discourse suggests that this emotion might be more menacing than commonly perceived.
Historically, nostalgia was first introduced in the late seventeenth century as a medical term to describe an illness manifested through symptoms such as fever, appetite loss, and heart palpitations, often resulting from change and dislocation.
Today, amid significant economic disruptions, analysts are urged to reconsider nostalgia as a potential grave condition that harms societies and economies.
The recent economic turbulence in the United States has illuminated this issue, with policies aimed at restoring past greatness often resulting in adverse outcomes.
One striking example occurred on April 2, 2025, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs intended to revive American manufacturing.
This initiative was met with economic disaster, leading to a market crash as stocks and bonds plummeted.
Trump assured voters that he was on a mission to bring back industries deemed abandoned, declaring, “We’re bringing back an industry that was abandoned.”
However, this nostalgic yearning for a bygone era exacerbated economic struggles, both within the U.S. and beyond.
The danger of nostalgia has historical precedents; throughout history, nations that turned inward in hopes of preserving tradition often faced dire consequences.
For instance, China and Japan sealed off their societies out of fear of external influences between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Though motivated by varying economic conditions, these policies reflected a shared belief that isolation would yield greater economic and spiritual well-being.
The fallout from such nostalgia was profound.
Historically, countries that embraced these sentiments — whether through restrictive policies or romanticized visions of the past — often abandoned such routes or found themselves in decline.
China’s historical insistence on isolation left it vulnerable to the advances of Western imperialists, demonstrating the dangers of letting nostalgia dictate policy.
Similarly, Japan’s isolation during the shogunate era cultivated vulnerabilities that the nation had to confront once it was forcefully opened to the global economy.
In Europe, nostalgia similarly permeated political beliefs post-World War I, contributing to the rise of fascism as people yearned for agrarian simplicity amidst the complexities of urban life and modernity.
The term “nostalgia” was birthed from a dissertation by Swiss physician Johannes Hofer in 1688, marking a beginning of documented understanding of how dislocation and adaptation difficulties could lead to longing for one’s homeland.
Hofer’s concept of nostalgia quickly transcended Switzerland’s borders, becoming applicable to societies throughout Europe and eventually the Americas, reflecting stress from globalization, migration, and industrialization.
Meanwhile, the political applications of nostalgia manifested dramatically in the latter half of the twentieth century.
Historically, in the realm of Asian politics, China opted for an isolationist approach after the global voyages of Admiral Zheng He, choosing to regard external engagements as potential vulnerabilities that compromised its national integrity.
Conversely, it continued to diminish its global standing as it faced external pressures over the subsequent centuries.
Japan, on the other hand, retained some degree of contact with the world through restricted trade while adopting strict measures against the spread of foreign influence.
The diabolical combination of nostalgia and racism became evident across various geopolitical landscapes.
As Europe surged ahead with industrialization and colonial expansions, nostalgia took on imbalanced forms.
The nostalgic longing for pastoral life surged during the socially and economically tumultuous era of the Great Depression, propelling certain movements that aimed to revert back to simpler, agrarian societies.
In Germany, such longings were manipulated by the National Socialist Party, which capitalized on farmers’ struggles and romanticized agrarian life as part of their broader propaganda strategy.
Hitler and other leaders explicitly embraced rural imagery, associating it with notions of economic prosperity while manifesting their imperial ambitions.
Despite its initial significance in attracting voters, the romanticism surrounding peasant life became counterproductive and eventually fell out of favor as the regime focused on more industrial and militarized strategies.
In the aftermath of World War II, European nations recognized the dangers of nostalgia firsthand and sought to adopt policies promoting modernization instead of regression to an idyllic past.
While subsidies supported remaining farmers, there was a collective understanding that the nostalgia for a pastoral past needed to be tempered against the reality of future economic and social advancements.
The evolving landscape witnessed the emergence of a new wave of nostalgia in recent years, especially within the political sphere, where sentiments surrounding the loss of manufacturing jobs have gained traction.
Countries like Italy have faced significant repercussions from globalization, contributing to a rise in populist sentiments seeking to reclaim a perceived better past.
The response in the United States has showcased a pronounced flirtation with nostalgia, as evidenced by Trump’s rhetoric, which stirred anger against globalization and growing diversity, linking it to economic hardships that characterized his electoral campaign.
Since his second term, Trump has aimed to enact policies described as restorative, framing his tariffs as moments of reclaiming lost American ingenuity and industry.
However, as history indicates, the comforting images that evoke fond memories of the past may distort understanding and tolerance for necessary changes in the economy.
Despite intentions, tariffs alone cannot rekindle lost jobs amid technological advancements threatening various sectors.
The ongoing automation revolution parallels past industrial shifts, yet nostalgia can blind people to the complexities of navigating modern development.
As disillusionment grows from the failures of these policies, nostalgia can morph into cultural grievances, leading to further societal division.
Rather than confronting a rapidly changing world, nostalgia can devolve into scapegoating, blaming others for underlying economic misfortunes.
The urgency of today’s technological developments underscores the need for policymakers to resist falling into the nostalgia trap.
While individuals may find solace in personal nostalgia, it can serve a detrimental function in public policy, fracturing discourse and eroding civic trust.
Acknowledging historical lessons about the perils of nostalgia is paramount moving forward; the path lies not in yearning for imagined homelands, but in adapting to realities that shape the contemporary landscape.
image source from：https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/how-nostalgia-ruins-economies-trump
