I’m admittedly a sucker for a period piece. But 2006’s The Painted Veil is fantastically good. It’s mostly a love story about two British ex-pats living in China during the 1920s. But it’s set against a vivid background of Chinese politics, and peppered with gems like this conversation between a British businessman and a British diplomat:
Businessman: What about support from Chiang Kai-shek? Where does he stand on this?
Townsend: He’s a nationalist. He will stand on the side of the Chinese. That’s why they call themselves “nationalists.”
You won’t find a better postcard version of Tolstoy’s “Patriotism, or Peace?” Yes, but what are they talking about? The point is precisely that it doesn’t matter – nationalism is about putting loyalty before morality and reason.
READER COMMENTS
Dennis Mangan
Dec 7 2008 at 8:40pm
Nationalism is about banding together to make sure that the other guys – who are also banded together – don’t do you in. As such, it’s a completely moral and rational behavior. The world of human beings is a vast game of prisoners’ dilemma – you can stay un-nationalized only if everyone else does.
hutch
Dec 7 2008 at 10:44pm
isn’t bryan saying that “nationalism”, at least in the way he defines it, is putting loyalty ahead of reason. banding together when the other guys are trying to “do you in” is reasonable. historically, when bryan refers to nationalism, his argument seems to be that it isn’t reasonable. for example, with immigration, he doesn’t think, and i agree with him, that immigrants are trying to do us in, making nationalism against reason (and immoral). but that’s my interpretation of what he’s saying.
Steve Sailer
Dec 8 2008 at 5:43am
How’s globalism working out these days?
JC
Dec 8 2008 at 6:55am
Read Elie Kedourie.
Marc
Dec 8 2008 at 8:12am
Seeing ourselves as part of a group and being emotionally attached to group goals is probably part of our evolutionary make up and not something that reason is going to overcome. But these primal forces are not bad in themselves; the important point is how these forces are channeled. For example, individual self interest in a free economic system is channeled to benefit everyone who takes part in that system. I cant think of any good examples of nationalism being used effectively. The closest I can think of, off hand, are Nobel prizes, perhaps, in the past, the US space program…But the basic idea is use it dont fight it.
John Alcorn
Dec 8 2008 at 5:27pm
Right on. I’m glad you’ll have a chance to speak more truth to power tomorrow in your testimony before Congress – Good luck!
Mitchell Young
Dec 10 2008 at 4:07pm
I cant think of any good examples of nationalism being used effectively.
Here is John Jay (he’s one of those guys that gave you this polity)
I’d say they did pretty good. Of course, professor Caplan might not identify with these folks for all sorts of reasons.
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