the case for patriotism
Postulate (P) 1: Humans inevitably pick one or more specific groups the interests of which to advance - if necessary, at the expense of other groups.
P2: Among the most obvious candidates are: all living things; all humans; people in the same political nation; people of the same [smaller civil division such as province/city/etc]; people of the same ethnicity (whatever that means); people of the same faith broadly speaking; people of the same faith narrowly speaking; people with some other identity characteristic in common (e.g. sexual preference); family; and self only. And of course, various unions and intersections of the above.
P3: Especially given P1, it is morally desirable that people be encouraged to advance the interests of as broad a group as possible, preferably including those who are unlike them in some ways.
P4: Absent a compelling cultural and/or religious narrative to the contrary, most people will tend to default to a fairly small group such as self, family, religion narrowly, and/or ethnicity (probably a subset thereof) as the group to champion.
Conclusion (C) 1: As a consequence of P1-3, it is most desirable that people pick "all life on Earth" or, if not that, "all humans" as their primary team. (Idealist!Zach stops here.)
P5: It's pretty hard to get people to do either of those.
P6: Of the groups listed in P2 not excluded by P5, the largest (see note 1) and most diverse that the average person can readily identify as is "nation".
C2: As a consequence of P1, P3, P4, and P6, it is desirable that people be encouraged to advance the interests of their country.
P7: Patriotism is the name given to a) a personal dedication to advancing the interests of one's country and the people in it; b) the methods and symbols used to signify that one holds this value; and c) the cultural norm encouraging people to hold this value.
C3: As a consequence of C2, P7a, and P7c, patriotism is a good thing, at least if people don't get so hung up on P7b and P7c that they forget about P7a.
Note 1: There are regions in between "nation" and "everyone" in size. For example, people in Europe are strongly encouraged to think of what's best for Europe as a whole, not just their own country. Given the extent to which they have and continue to struggle with this, I've picked "nation" as the largest feasible group, but I could be talked out of it.
P2: Among the most obvious candidates are: all living things; all humans; people in the same political nation; people of the same [smaller civil division such as province/city/etc]; people of the same ethnicity (whatever that means); people of the same faith broadly speaking; people of the same faith narrowly speaking; people with some other identity characteristic in common (e.g. sexual preference); family; and self only. And of course, various unions and intersections of the above.
P3: Especially given P1, it is morally desirable that people be encouraged to advance the interests of as broad a group as possible, preferably including those who are unlike them in some ways.
P4: Absent a compelling cultural and/or religious narrative to the contrary, most people will tend to default to a fairly small group such as self, family, religion narrowly, and/or ethnicity (probably a subset thereof) as the group to champion.
Conclusion (C) 1: As a consequence of P1-3, it is most desirable that people pick "all life on Earth" or, if not that, "all humans" as their primary team. (Idealist!Zach stops here.)
P5: It's pretty hard to get people to do either of those.
P6: Of the groups listed in P2 not excluded by P5, the largest (see note 1) and most diverse that the average person can readily identify as is "nation".
C2: As a consequence of P1, P3, P4, and P6, it is desirable that people be encouraged to advance the interests of their country.
P7: Patriotism is the name given to a) a personal dedication to advancing the interests of one's country and the people in it; b) the methods and symbols used to signify that one holds this value; and c) the cultural norm encouraging people to hold this value.
C3: As a consequence of C2, P7a, and P7c, patriotism is a good thing, at least if people don't get so hung up on P7b and P7c that they forget about P7a.
Note 1: There are regions in between "nation" and "everyone" in size. For example, people in Europe are strongly encouraged to think of what's best for Europe as a whole, not just their own country. Given the extent to which they have and continue to struggle with this, I've picked "nation" as the largest feasible group, but I could be talked out of it.