Of course the question of patriotism vs nationalism matters. Otherwise, why post about it? The better question, of course, is why the difference matters. That’s what I want to explore today.
Patriotism vs Nationalism: What Patriotism Is
The definition of patriotism, at its base, is wanting to see one’s country do well. Cheering your national athletes at the Olympics is patriotic. Actively making your country a better place is patriotic. Things like trying to give all people a decent opportunity to succeed or encouraging people to become involved in their community would count. Teachers are, by definition, among the most patriotic people in any nation. They’ve dedicated their careers to giving young people a better chance in life. This makes their country better.
Patriotism is active. Merely flying the flag is not patriotic in and of itself. Patriotism is not, however, aggressive. A patriot can believe their nation, way of life, etc., among the best in the world. That could, perhaps should, be among the goals of a patriot even if it’s not true at a particular moment. But patriotism stops short of enforcing its beliefs and way of life on others. Real patriotism lacks a sense of superiority over others. Patriots want to build their country up but without tearing down someone else.
Patriotism vs Nationalism: What Nationalism Looks Like
At first, it might seem like nationalism is a more extreme form of patriotism, but this isn’t really true. The goals of each are different. The patriot wants to see their nation do well. They want a high standard of living (be it in money, personal happiness, or any number of things) for themselves and those around them. They also want an inclusive society. A society that intentionally excludes some of its members (because of race, religion, cultural tastes, or anything else) is, by definition, less patriotic.
Nationalism, at its base, is about power and prestige. The nationalist believes in superiority. This superiority can take many forms—cultural, economic, governmental, military, religion—but in all cases one’s own nation (or whatever unit of allegiance one directs their loyalties to) is better than others. Not only is it better, however. Indeed, the superior nation has a right, perhaps even a duty, to spread its beliefs as widely as possible precisely because it is the best.
Nationalism is aggressive. It’s no surprise that, historically, many nations linked intense nationalism with geographic expansion. Many examples come to mind. Nazi Germany. Imperial Japan. Manifest Destiny in the US. The domination of Africa and South Asia by European imperialist powers in the 19th century. The nationalist sees life, and history itself, as an endless competition of ideas, with their own somehow destined for eventual ascendancy. The more recent the history, the truer this becomes.
Other Components of Nationalism
George Orwell once wrote “Nationalism is power hunger tempered by self-deception.” Let me explain what he meant. Nationalists believe in serving a higher ideal than the individual. (Again, this could be because of religion, cultural values, an economic system, or what have you.) Being convinced of their own superiority, they can lie while seeing no contradictions. Nationalist leaders can survive any number of lies or obvious falsehoods. That’s because their followers don’t look to them for truth. The followers want confirmation of their beliefs.
Obsession is another characteristic of nationalism. The slightest fault is unthinkable, as is any positive achievement by an opponent. Flags and symbolism carry great weight. Almost any action from an opponent becomes a slight, and the smallest slight requires a forceful response.
Likewise, living in reality is not required for nationalists, and truth is relative. Fear, hate, and jealousy are the emotions that unmoor the nationalist from objective fact. Likewise, an action becomes neither good or bad in and of itself. It becomes good when done for your side, but the same action can be evil when done by an enemy. What’s more, disbelief in reality isn’t even required at times. Because nationalist leaders provide confirmation of belief rather than fact, it’s possible for heinous event to have never occurred at all since the individual never hears of them from sources they trust.
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Other Forms of Nationalist Delusion
An interesting trait of nationalism is the desire to alter the past to a more desirable state. They feel a desire to change how history appears in writing. It doesn’t matter that their version isn’t what happened. Their version is what should have happened. So, in the nationalist mind, it did happen. The falsification isn’t important. Because the nationalist serves a higher ideal than the individual, this justifies the suppression of facts and doctoring of evidence to promote the higher ideal.
Once again, all of this is relative. Any deviation from this “correct” historical reality, however slight, forms an act of treason committed by radicals bent on destroying the nation. The nationalist sees no contradiction in the fact that they’ve done the same and in far greater quantity because they did so in the service of right.
Using this Examination of Terms
Hopefully, reading this blog puts you in position to recognize the question of patriotism vs nationalism when you see them. Some cases of nationalism are obvious. It’s not hard to recognize fearmongering, the vulgar downplay of tragedy because it happened to the “bad guys,” and so forth. Conspiracy theories, the belief in an endless series of internal enemies, and other similarly hysterical fears aren’t hard to spot, either.
Some instances are more subtle, however, like questioning the patriotism of others for not conforming to a belief in national superiority. Likewise with doubting the loyalty of those who question the national course of action simply because they dared to question it. These are more insidious because they are harder to spot and because nearly everyone is vulnerable to them.
I’ll admit that this essay on patriotism vs nationalism owes considerably to an essay on the topic by George Orwell. (You can read it here, although be prepared for a lot of references to events from the 1940s.) I don’t claim my thoughts are completely original. I do claim, however, that the question is an important one. For that reason, it never hurts to remind people of it and to understand the difference between these two things.
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