National chauvinism and religious fundamentalism are here to stay, and with them the terrorism that extremists of all stripes embrace, because both phenomena are ideally suited to the age of the individual: They provide imaginary answers to personal angst, instead of political answers to collective challenges. These movements’ amorphous nature – often channeled through charismatic leaders – allows each individual to project onto them his or her dreams, making them difficult to counter within the framework of traditional politics.
国家政治的危机后果远不止于个体国家的边界。民族沙文主义和宗教原教旨主义矗立在我们面前，与它们一起崛起的是形形色色的极端分子所实施的恐怖主义：它们为个人焦虑提供臆想的答案，而不提供对集体挑战的政治答案。这些运动的无形性——常常通过魅力超凡的领袖提供——让每一个个体都可以将梦想寄托其上，因此，在传统政治 框架下，它们很难被制约。