I use ‘nation’, in the same sense I think as Karatani, and as influenced by Benedict Anderson’s work, as the imagined community that arose as a reaction to capital and state

Capital, because of its short-term search for self-interest, needs the state for managing the collective interest of its system, but in turn, the capitalist state destroys the autonomy of communities, which existed in previous systems. Hence, the nation was a construction of a sense of community at a higher level, binding the citizens of a particular state in a bond of common patriotism. It’s the ‘imagined’ (which doesn’t mean it is not real of course) community of those bound by the common experience of living in a state, always contentions etc… but where political fights are fought

This is of course complex, as their are ‘nations’ without a state (such as the flanders), but even these are reactions to the emergence of the state

Michel,
The conceptual framework that you provide here is helpful in beginning to envision how we might transcend the present reality of dominance by what you call the “transnational financial class,” and work towards creating structures that advance inclusion, equity and the common good. The first two aspects of your “trinity,” capital and state, are clear enough, but I need to see a more precise definition of what you mean by “nation” in this context.

Considering how we turn the vision into reality, I fully agree that we must “create translocal and transnational civic and economic entities [and structures] that can eventually rebalance and counter the power of the transnational capitalist class.” You mention “trans-local productive communities,” but even more importantly than that, we especially need to create “trans-local exchange communities” to liberate us from the grip of those who control the allocation and availability of credit through their control of the global interest-based debt-money system which is the cornerstone of the global power structure in today’s world. As we achieve that the way will open up before us to move forward in creating the myriad structures that will comprise the new economy and convivial society.
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Michel

On the other hand, we are preparing a post on this post of you. Even not agreeing with every point, we think it is a really important statement this you make and we want to be part of its consequences.