The Importance Of Nationalism

1346 Words6 Pages
Nationalism has once more appeared on the agenda of world affairs. Almost every day, leaders in the occidental countries declare that, with the collapse of communism or the USSR, the principal danger to world peace is now posed by the resurgence of nationalism in different parts of the world. Since in this day and age, a phenomenon should be recognised as a” problem” before it can grab the attention of the people, nationalism seems to have regained sufficient notoriety for it to be liberated from the arcane practices of area specialists and has been made once more a subject of general debate. But how and why did this happen? Scholars such as George Orwell who a society derived from several forms nationalism, which has one point – to isolate the individual citizen to achieve unwavering allegiance to the Party; Anthony Smiths with his primordialist approach and Benedict Anderson 's constructivist approach, Eric Hobsbawm have tried to define nationalism but haven’t been able to define the define in its entirety. Nationalism to many people varies slightly in definition and perception but basically it is a political or social philosophy in which the welfare of the nation-state as an entity is considered paramount. Thus, nationalism differentiates itself from Patriotism. Patriotism is fundamental to liberty because pride in one’s nation-state, and a willingness to defend it if necessary, is the basis of national independence. Patriotism is the courage of national