Why It's OK to Be Patriotic

Description

The post-9/11 era saw patriotism transform from somber resolve into jingoistic excess, leaving many to wonder whether love of country inevitably corrupts into tribalism and violence. Critics from Leo Tolstoy to George Kateb have argued that patriotism is inherently dangerous, a relic of a less enlightened age. Yet abandoning patriotism entirely may be worse than the disease. Why It's OK to Be... Read more

The post-9/11 era saw patriotism transform from somber resolve into jingoistic excess, leaving many to wonder whether love of country inevitably corrupts into tribalism and violence. Critics from Leo Tolstoy to George Kateb have argued that patriotism is inherently dangerous, a relic of a less enlightened age. Yet abandoning patriotism entirely may be worse than the disease.

Why It's OK to Be Patriotic makes a philosophically rigorous case that patriotism, properly conceived, is neither irrational nor harmful—but essential to democratic life. Case argues that patriotism is best understood as love of country rather than mere loyalty, a love directed toward compatriots as participants in a shared political community. Drawing on Aristotle, contemporary philosophy, and hard-won experience, he defends patriotism as a virtue—a golden mean between tribal excess and cosmopolitan detachment—while articulating the patriotic duties of heart and mind required to maintain the civic commons. He tackles the toughest objections head-on: Does patriotism cause war? Does it rest on irrational bias? Can it be reconciled with universal moral principles?

The book culminates in a powerful meditation on America's current crisis. With political violence escalating and talk of "national divorce" gaining traction, Case argues that the only way out is through—not escape from politics, but the difficult practice of loving one's country by learning to love the people in it.

Key features:

Provides an account of patriotism in terms of love rather than loyalty, distinguishing patriotism from nationalism, jingoism, and tribalism.
Confronts arguments from critiques of patriotism from Emma Goldman, Leo Tolstoy, and Albert Einstein, as well as from more recent critics such as Simon Keller and George Kateb, showing that patriotism need not be irrational, harmful, or morally blind.
Offers concrete patriotic duties of heart-mind—including resistance to contempt, epistemic civic virtues, and practices for maintaining the civic commons—that can help repair America's fraying social fabric.
Draws on Aristotle, contemporary philosophy of love, and virtue ethics while remaining accessible to general readers concerned about their country's future.

Read less

Prologue; Introduction: Why Patriotism?; Chapter 1: Countries, Nations, and Other Preliminaries; Chapter 2: Love of Country; Chapter 3: The Harm Objection; Chapter 4: The Irrationality Objection; Chapter 5: The Psychological Goods of National Identity; Chapter 6: Heart-Mind Duties; Chapter 7: Patriotism as a Virtue; Conclusion: What will become of us?; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Author(s)

Biography

Spencer Case, writer and host of Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy Podcast, received his PhD in philosophy from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2018. He is coauthor, along with Matt Lutz, of Is Morality Real? A Debate (Routledge 2023) and author of more than ten peer-reviewed philosophy articles .

Critics' Reviews

"Spencer Case offers a persuasive and accessible argument for an out-of-fashion virtue. Patriotism, he shows, doesn’t need to be xenophobic or belligerent. It can be a form of love and community, a unifying call to rise above partisanship, and a balm for fractious times. Deftly integrating scholarship and intriguing examples, Why It’s OK to be Patriotic is a balanced yet provocative contribution from one of the most thoughtful conservative intellectuals writing today." --Regina Rini, York University, Toronto

“Patriotism is a form of love. Certainly love, and so patriotism, can be irrational, vicious, or morally blind; but they need not be. Like other forms of love, patriotism is defensible, and can be praiseworthy—this is the core of Spencer Case's book. If the evils of twisted patriotism are easily seen, Case argues that patriotism's good effects outweigh the bad. More mundane and less visible, losing them would be a tragedy. They hum about us everywhere.” --Brad Skow, MIT

"Spencer Case asks an important question: Should rational people be patriotic or should patriotism be relegated to the domain of chauvinists and desperate politicians? In Why It's OK to be Patriotic, Case makes an intriguing case that patriotism properly understood is a good thing, and it contributes to our collective well-being. In calm and clear prose, Case sets out the argument that patriotism is rooted in human psychology and the proper functioning of society. This brief, but sharp, book will be of great interest to philosophers, social critics and general readers who think critically about our public culture." --Fabio Rojas, Indiana University, Bloomington

Why It's OK to Be Patriotic

Description

Table of Contents

Author(s)

Biography

Critics' Reviews

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