Abstract: The creation of modern nation states, as well as destruction and denial of the ability to create nation states are major themes in global history since the beginning of the nineteenth century, also dominating the modern history of China and Japan. The global environment does not follow principles designed on the drawing board, nor are ideologies of all persuasions able to bring about stability by themselves. Civilizations have surprising resilience, and elements reappear even after violent revolutions lasting decades. Systems of political, economic and social governance change as (post)industrialization continues. In the long run, no ideology or blueprint assure stability. It is not surprising that civilizations East and West tend to attach importance to the eternal struggle between “Virtue” and “Corruption”.