nationalism
An IDEOLOGYthat places the nation at the center of
importance and emphasizes people subordinating their
other INTERESTS(personal, economic, class, religious)
to the “common good” of the nation. This most
extreme expression of nationalism occurred in German
(NAZI) FASCISM(1920–45), in which all other consider-
ations of German citizens were subordinated to the
STAT Eand the leader (HITLER). Other fascist countries
(Spain, Italy) and Soviet Russian COMMUNISM(under
Joseph STALIN) exhibited extreme nationalism.
In nationalistic ideology, the individual’s loyalty is
to be first to his or her country and its interests, so
friends, local community, culture, religion, and per-
sonal views are to be subjected to the national view of
the state. Hence, PATRIOTISMis the premier social VIRTUE
in nationalism.
During times of war or conflict between nations,
nationalism naturally increases, even in culturally
diverse countries such as Britain, the United States,
and the Soviet Union. Milder forms of nationalism
occur in countries by distinct regions or cultures, such
as French Canada (Quebec), Ireland, Scotland, and
Wales. These peaceful nationalistic movements within
larger countries usually strive to gain greater political
autonomy, influence, or recognition (as bilingualism in
Canada—French and English—or Wales—English and
Welsh). In the United States, several groups and
regions (black or African American; Muslims; Hispanic
or Spanish American in the Southwest; Jewish Ameri-
cans) assert a form of separatist nationalism, but the
DEMOCRATIC PLURALISM of the United States tends to
subsume different cultures into a basically homoge-
neous nationality.
With the spread of global economics and interna-
tional pacts and organizations, nationalism is declining
in the 21st century.
Further Readings
Kohn, H. The Idea of Nationalism.New York: Macmillan, 1946.
Smith, A. D. Theories of Nationalism.New York: Harper & Row,
1971.
natural law
The idea or philosophy that there is an objective law
and system in nature or the universe that prevails over
individual human preference or social structures. Fur-
ther, a natural law view asserts that if a person, society,
or government does not conform to the laws of nature,
he or she—or they, if that be the case—will not func-
tion effectively and ultimately will be harmed and
destroyed. Thus, natural law conceives of a given order
of things that people should try to know and follow so
that they will be prosperous and happy and enjoy JUS-
TICEin their lives and social relations. Political natural
law theories say that states must adhere to this objec-
tive law to be just, stable, and healthy.
The earliest Western view of natural law occurs in
the ancient Greek thinker ARISTOTLEwith his TELEO-
LOGICALphilosophy. According to Aristotle, everything
has a natural telos,or purpose, which its nature strives
to attain or complete: An acorn, by nature, is made to
become an oak tree; even if the acorn “wanted” to be a
pine tree, its nature limits it to becoming an oak tree.
Similarly, humans are made with certain capacities and
limitations, and philosophy is devoted to learning that
human nature so that people can be fulfilled in their
proper place and end. Several surrounding social cir-
cumstances affect that purpose (family, economics,
society, politics), so the government should arrange
the environment to further that human development
within the confines of natural law. Politics, for Aristo-
tle, should follow nature.
ROMAN LAW as expressed in CICERO followed this
natural law perspective, conceiving of a universally
valid code that applied to all the different nations and
cultures within the Roman Empire.
CHRISTIAN political thought (St. AUGUSTINE, St.
Thomas AQUINAS) applies this natural-law view
through the Bible and church teaching. In this,
humans are made by God with a certain nature (in his
own image, creative, with free will and reason, etc.).
Human sin and pride rebels against God’s order and
law; people putting themselves in God’s place leads to
disorder and death. St. Thomas Aquinas provides the
most elaborate depiction of Christian natural law in
his Summa Theologica.He details three levels of law:
divine, natural, and human. Divine or God’s universal
law encompasses everything. Natural law is that part
of divine law that governs nature (the planets, animals,
plants, humans). After Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas
holds that each thing has a given goal or purpose that
limits its possibilities. Sin and pride cause people to
try to live outside their natural-law limits, but that
leads to disaster. Humans, for example, are not made
by nature to fly, so jumping off a building leads to
injury and death. Any violation of natural law has seri-
ous negative consequences. So, a government, or
human law, should conform to divine and natural law216 nationalism