It is how Bavarians and Venetians in the 1860s, for example, became convinced that they were and had always been Germans or Italians. Likewise, only a new narrative – a new Geist – can persuade the British today that they are really Europeans.
政治的角色就是创造、维持和改写这一共同自我意识，即“我们”意识（“他们”意识也随之而定）。这是一个幻觉，但它是社会创造的幻觉。19世纪60年代，巴伐利亚人和威尼斯人就是这样认为他们是、并且一直以来都是德国人和意大利人。类似地，只有新的叙事——新的Geist——能够让今天的英国人相信他们是名副其实的欧洲人。