A Note on Patriotism and Nationalism

Abstract

For a threat to go to war to be plausible to outsiders, and even more for a state of war to be maintained, the individuals involved must be adequately motivated. As we have seen (Chapter 1), in most modern wars hope of individual gain is of minor significance, though protection of loved ones may be important. The aggressive propensities of individuals are likewise of primarily indirect significance, unless hand-to-hand fighting is involved. The correlations between individual aggressiveness and attitudes towards aggressive military policies tend to be positive but low (Feshbach 1990). The primary motivating factors in war seem to be the ideals, secular or religious, which are themselves the product of group values bolstered by propaganda. With certain reservations to be mentioned later, we can refer to these ideals as ‘patriotic’. Patriotism can involve a willingness to incur extreme costs, involving even life itself, for the sake of the in-group. Clearly, powerful forces are at work: what exactly is their nature?