For Love of Country: An Essay on Patriotism and Nationalism

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Oxford University Press, 1995 - Philosophy - 206 pages
Reconstructing the historical meaning of the terms nationalism and patriotism, Viroli shows how the two concepts have been used within specific cultural and ideological contexts. He reviews the political thought of modern and early modern Europe, with particular emphasis on France, Italy, England, and Germany, and comes up with a fundamental difference between patriotism and nationalism. Viroli argues that patriotism and nationalism are two ideologies that aim to reinforce and channel two different and powerful political passions: the love of a common good and the love of uniqueness and homogeneity. The Patriot is a supporter of the republic, his enemies are tyranny and corruption; the Nationalist supports ethnic, cultural, or religious unity, and fights against impurity, contamination, and diversity. He concludes, therefore, that while it is morally acceptable to be a patriot, it is morally unacceptable, as well as unnecessary, to be a nationalist to defend the values that nationalists hold dear. This work will be of interest to students and scholars of political theory and political science, as well as to historians of political thought.
 

Contents

Introduction
1
1 The Legacy of Republican Patriotism
18
2 Decline and Revival
41
3 Patriotism and the Politics of the Ancients
63
4 The Birth of the Language of Nationalism
95
5 The Nationalization of Patriotism
140
Patriotism without Nationalism
161
Bibliography
189
Index
199
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About the author (1995)

Maurizio Viroli is the author of numerous works in political theory and of a study of Machiavelli's political philosophy. A professor of politics at Princeton University, he lives in Princeton, New Jersey, and Forli, Italy.

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