"By "nationalism" I mean first of all the habit of assuming that human beings can be classified like insects and that whole blocks of millions or tens of millions of people can be confidently labelled "good" or "bad." But secondly — and this is much more important — I mean the habit of identifying oneself with a single nation or other unit, placing it beyond good and evil and recognizing no other duty than that of advancing its interests. Nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism. Both words are normally used in so vague a way that any definition is liable to be challenged, but one must draw a distinction between them, since two different and even opposing ideas are involved. By "patriotism" I mean devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force on other people. Patriotism is of its nature defensive, both militarily and culturally. Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power. The abiding purpose of every nationalist is to secure more power and more prestige, not for himself but for the nation or other unit in which he has chosen to sink his own individuality."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Related Quotes
"The Party taught that the proles were natural inferiors who must be kept in subjection, like animals, by the applicat…"
"Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laug…"
"By 'patriotism' I mean devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best…"
"In England, a century of strong government has developed what O. Henry called the stern and rugged fear of the police…"
"Spending the night out of doors has nothing attractive about it in London, especially for a poor, ragged, undernouris…"
"And once, in spite of the men who gripped him by each shoulder, he stepped slightly aside to avoid a puddle on the pa…"
"This means no more than vae victis - woe to the creed that is not backed by machine-guns!"
"To the well-fed it seems cowardly to complain of tight boots, because the well-fed live in a different world-a world …"
"What is needed is the right to print what one believes to be true, without having to fear bullying or blackmail from …"
"[T]here is something wrong with a regime that requires a pyramid of corpses every few years."