“ 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. ”
George Orwell, Notes on Nationalism (1945). copy citation
| Author | George Orwell |
|---|---|
| Source | Notes on Nationalism |
| Topic | individuality power |
| Date | 1945 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | in "Polemic" |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and... |
Context
“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. So long as it is applied merely to the more notorious and identifiable nationalist movements in Germany, Japan, and other countries, all this is obvious enough. Confronted with a phenomenon like Nazism, which we can observe from the outside, nearly all of us would say much the same things about it.”
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