What is the difference between fascism and patriotism

In addition as a few others have indicated the nation is defined by a group of people with shared heritage.

I agree with other commenters that this article misses the mark, and is really just describing chauvinism. Far too simplistic an interpretation. What of civic nationalism? What of nationalists behind separatist movements Scotland, Quebec, Catalonia, etc —movements born more out of a want for self-determination than a sense of inherent superiority?

This article is very illogical and shallow, as are many of the comments afterward. A reflection of public discourse in general in America right now? I think so. Very disappointing and sad. Some cultures ARE better than others. As far as Nationalism goes, it is good to have healthy boundaries, especially when facing other nations who want to kill you. People are too emotional and reactionary, and the discussion on this thread is a perfect example.

I think some people on this thread just enjoy imagining chaos and anarchy. I think these same people also enjoy the wishful thinking that our enemies are really our friends.

Question: If you people who hate Nationalism do get everything you want politically, do you think the chaos will make you happy? They are like breathing, living things. They change. Like people, they can work to correct their flaws, and, like people, all they have to do to start autocorrecting is acknowledging their flaws. You mention burkas. Yeah, I do agree with you that the Middle East currently has a bad streak of sexism, as well as authoritarism, extremism and such.

And a curiosity about burkas: many Muslim women actually choose to wear them out of their own free will. They are patriots and, since they consider the burka to be a symbol of their culture, wear it proudly. There has been an event where a government proposal against burkas in England I think was actually met with animosity from the Muslim women.

Marjane Satrapi immediately comes to mind. They were mixed up in Medieval Europe as well and, surprise, that time is caled the Dark Ages for a reason. Sexism and authoritarism are NOT components of Islam. A few examples follow. Please remember that a thousand years ago the Church conducted the Incquisition and te Crusades.

Both of these atrocities were commited in the name of Christ, but based on what little I know of the man, this seems like the kind of stuff he would condemn with all His might. Frequently, it was 15 year old girls being sold do adult men and they were seen as less human and more breeding machines, necessary ONLY for their capacity to produce male heirs. Do all these things mean our culture is bad?

The fundamentalists hurt their own people even more than they hurt us. Also, I jut read Mending Wall. This is one of the many quirks that make poetry beautiful. In other words all the Trump supporters. Nationalists to the end. Ignorant, mostly white males angry, gun toting, belly aching, uneducated blowhards just like the POTUS. Nationalism combined with religious dogma is rarely a happy mix nor does it make for a happy ending.

You raise a good point. My parents worked in Ghana just after its independence. An optimistic mood of Ghanian natonalismm helped forge different tribes together the build one of Africas most successful nations. South African nationalism galvinised the country in a post aparthide indentity. And your contention is, what? You deny that the US is superior to a third world toilet?

If so, what are your reasons? If we did not acknowledge the pedigree of our species then would nature progress us to new evolutionary heights? These words are preceded by concepts that are built upon the truth that something can be greater or lesser. So cut the crap, a nation of people can be greater or lesser than another. What if instead it was the US that was a third world shit hole?

Are you still going to be full of pride, refusing to see the flaws and issues that need fixing? Nationalism CAN be static and complacent. It CAN be a position of arrogance hindering people from improving themselves, unless self improvement is hard wired straight into the ethos of the nation, like in Japan for example at least from the looks of it.

What if you happen to migrate to another country? Are you suddenly going to act like a slime ball on account of no longer living in the country you were born to? The only reason why nationalism is labelled as such is because fascists use the term nationalism to describe their hateful intentions. Though it is true that they are practicing nationalism, they are practicing it extremely and in an unhealthy manner.

Going back, nationalism is more on loving and preserving your own culture. Take for example. This is not to imply that you hate modernization, but rather, you want to preserve their culture by letting other people know, even if they are modernized already.

Let him talk for long enough and his tongue will replace the rope. A nationalist response is more along the lines of what Gandhi or Infantry Regiment did. Tell that to Paul Revere and the millions of Americans who died for this country considering it the greatest country on Earth.

I also happen to be white so that makes me a white nationalist… OMG! Leftist commucrats and globalists like the writer of this article are trying to make nationalism a pejorative… a dirty word. Going on this article, I am a patriot and not a nationalist because I seek to better our nation by addressing and correcting its flaws and to progress to a more just and equal nation rather than blindly supporting it without questioning it.

Remind me to never get stuck in a foxhole with you, Mr. Question Man Commucrat. Like I already said. The leftist lunatic globalists want to make it a dirty word to believe in nationalism. Get an education, pal. This article is full of gross generalizations.

I did however like the first definition provided for Patriotism and Nationalism. First, what defines a nation is contested. Thus, the same issue applies to a greater degree for nationalism. Nationalism can be Rightwing, Leftwing, centrist, traditionalist, and perhaps in many more forms.

Let us take the Fascist Nationalism of Benito Mussolini as a case study. In this context Nationalism is defined by violence and imperialism. Let us take the Nationalism of India for a contrast. Indian nationalism of the 30ss aimed to liberate India.

In fact Nationalism is a normal part of discourse in India. There is moderate, extreme, and other forms of nationalism in India. Even many communists in India profess nationalism some as deceit for votes and support while others, rarely, genuinely are nationalistic. Nelson Mandela was a Nationalist who opposed apartheid. Hitler was a Nazi nationalist who used it to promote racism and genocide.

There was Bismark, who through realism, sought to establish a German state, which is an example of nationalism.

It is a shame that many on this comment section have become militant in their support and opposition to this very broad and undefined category.

It is a word with fluid meaning. This form of nationalism is what happens when patriotism gets out of hand and morphs into something more exclusionary, isolationist, and … well, chauvinist.

Such nationalism can result in jingoism , which is a form of extreme nationalism promoting vigilant preparedness for war and an aggressive foreign policy. Patriotism generally has a positive connotation. Nationalism generally has a negative connotation. Feedback We've Added New Words! Word of the Day. Meanings Meanings. What is patriotism? Don't Get Mixed Up Again! So, first and foremost, patriotism is a sentimental attachment, a love for one's country. In this sense, everyone should be a patriot.

Now unfortunately, there are a number of people--sadly, they are academics--that look down on patriotism as something for the hoi polloi, a judgment that they pass on the masses as they nurse a nosebleed high aloft their ivory tower. Now, I have to admit, I tend to be the enemy of all things hokum. But with patriotism, I must remember that the many common things that are done in the name of patriotism might lack sophistication, but they are done from the heart.

And no matter how committed you are as an apostle of rationalism and refined sentiment, it's hard to sneer at genuine love of something good. There may be some rare exceptions, but as a rule, everyone should be a patriot. No one should ever be a fascist because no one has a good reason to divide people along racial lines, whether they are doing it in the name of "racial purity" or "social justice.

Monuments often become symbols as has the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island. While it has remained as a symbol of liberty for Americans, it has also remained a symbol of hope for others world-wide. What about nationalism? This one is more difficult. I believe that this is what President Trump was getting at during his address to the United Nations in Trump sees himself as a nationalist, that is, someone that embraces the Westphalian nation-state system and wants to operate in that arrangement.

Of course, we could dispense with the term "nationalist" and we could call such people, "pro-Westphalians," but I don't think it will catch on. The nationalist view that I have outlined above is not inherently dangerous. In this sense, he was inviting all nations to exercise the same practice of pursuing their own interests in the international order.

Such a vision provides both unity and diversity: unity, in that all participate in the same game; diversity, in that we have a variety of players. They are looking to secure a good, not impose an evil.

Besides, one is not necessarily a fascist if one is a nationalist and vice versa. It has been a modern political ploy to try to associate nationalism with conservatism and then fascism, but this is merely tactical bantering, not historical analysis.

Believing that the nation-state is the best system for global order and that the nation is that group that should have the right of autonomous political self-determination is not owned by the right or the left. The fact is that people on both the right and the left have been nationalists. For example, Woodrow Wilson was the great promoter of nationalism in the early 20 th century and he was a founding father of progressivism.

So, let me offer this creed to harmonize the conflicts that exists between the concepts of patriotism, nationalism, and fascism:. I am a patriot because I love my country and I love its heritage. Just because I display a great love for something does not mean that I am equally displaying a great hatred of something else. I do not magnify my country because I hate the country of others, but because of my great love of my own.

I am not a fascist. I don't value dividing people along cultural lines and intimidating the marginalized to generate hatred and empower the state. We should value moral division, the distinction between right and wrong, not cultural. Finally, if I am a nationalist, it is only in the sense that I believe that a nation should direct the state and should pursue its own interests when dealing with other states. The nation-state still remains the safest repository of sovereignty and the best current arrangement to maintain both unity and plurality in the international order.

This content reflects the personal opinions of the author. Guess I'm a patriotic nationalist who abhors fascism, despite the fact that the politicians and MSM tend to call me a 'far right extremist' - such is life in a confused age.

There is no logical connection between patriotism and jingoism. The world is filled with patriots that are reluctant soldiers and militants that have love for little but aggression.