Question

What is nationalism and what are its its advantages?

Answer 1

Nationalism is one of the most potent forces in humanity. At its core, it is an ideology which binds a group of people together, usually through national identity. (after all, it’s in the name).

It is true that nationalism is regarded with suspicion in many circles, because it smacks of racial supremacy. Undoubtedly, some strains of ultra-nationalism display this. Just look at Hitler’s Germany. But the advantages of nationalism are also overlooked.

Firstly, there are very noticeable benefits to a group of people being bound very closely together. Because they have a set of common goals or a common vision, it allows them to cooperate. Nationalism works like a kind of social currency. Because you are from my country, and we share the same goals for our country, I know I can trust you. This type of social bonding means trust and cohesion is much higher in a society, facilitating anything from trade to a successful war effort. This also enables things like civic virtue and prosperity. If you look at newer forms of nationalism, like civic nationalism, you can see this happening. Civic nationalism is when people are tied together less by blood and more by values. Nationalism leads to more popular participation in the public sphere, leading to change from local initiatives to top-down political change. These developments make civil society healthy and robust