If you were an alien coming from outer space, you would first look at Earth from a distance noticing the various land masses, atmospheric phenomena, and the vast bodies of water. A discerning alien might see how different continents are separated by each other as well. Getting closer to earth, depending on which part of the world you were entering, you would see natural lines distinguishing topographical features including rivers, mountains, volcanoes, plateaus, peninsulas, isthmuses, steppes, glaciers, deltas, valleys, etc...
What would not be seen, unless somehow this alien was in the know with some of the people down here, was how the entire planet is marked by around two-hundred political boundaries called borders; and like how Doug Casey says, they are all "covering the face of the Earth like an ugly skin disease."
Now, do these political boundaries outlining countries even exist?
This begs the question what it means for something to "exist", although it's obviously clear that China doesn't exist like a mountain range or lake does. One is physical, the other is an idea made up by people long past who claimed power over those residing in a select region. It's sometimes the case that borders are aligned by geographic features, but ultimately a country is the place where unique values are shared by individuals and this is by no means constrained by imaginary lines on a map.
