- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
Patriotism, a sense of attachment and commitment to a country, nation or political community. Patriotism (love of country) and nationalism (loyalty to a nation) are often taken as synonymous, yet patriotism originated nearly 2,000 years before the rise of nationalism in the 19th century. Greek and especially Roman antiquity provide the roots of a political patriotism that envisions loyalty to the patria as loyalty to the political concept of the republic. It involves the love of law and general liberty, the pursuit of the common good, and the duty to treat one's country justly. This classical Roman meaning of patria resurfaced in the context of 15th-century Italian city-republics. Here, Patria stands for the general liberties of the city, which can only be secured by the civic spirit of the citizens. For Niccolò Machiavelli, the love of general liberty enabled citizens to see their private and special interests as part of the common good and helped them resist corruption and tyran...