The Virtue of Nationalism

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First edition (publ. Basic Books)

The Virtue of Nationalism is a 2018 book by Israeli-American political theorist Yoram Hazony.

Contents

Hazony argues that the nation state is the best form of government that humans have yet invented, contrasting both with historical empires and modern forms of global governance including United Nations affiliated institutions such as the International Court of Justice.[1][2] In particular, Hazony argues that nationalism uniquely provides "the collective right of a free people to rule themselves."[2]

According to Hazony, national identity is based not on race or biological homogeneity, but on "bonds of mutual loyalty" to a shared culture and a shared history that bind diverse groups into a national unit.[3] Hazony argues that the social cohesion enabled by a nation-state where a common language and history are shared by the majority of the population can produce a level of trust that enables the production of social and moral goods, such as civil and political liberties.[4][5][3]

He argues that, in contrast with systems like the European Union where member states are bound by measures taken by the Union, each nation state sets up unique systems, standards and administrative procedures, effectively producing a series of experiments that other nation states can freely copy as they strive for improvement.[2][1]

Hazony asserts that it is a matter of historical fact that the rights and freedoms of individuals have been protected best by nation-states, especially in

globalizing politically progressive elites have promoted a “global rule of law” that is intolerant of cultural differences, of patriotism, and of religious faith.[2] Hazony writes that globalists promulgate “anti-nationalist hate,” and are aggressively intolerant of cultural particularism.[2] In Hazony's words, "liberal internationalism is not merely a positive agenda . . . It is an imperialist ideology that incites against . . . nationalists, seeking their delegitimization wherever they appear."[2]

Israel and the European Union

In a juxtaposition that book reviewer Ira Stoll describes as the book's "strongest case" for nationalism, Hazony discusses the conflicting understanding held by Europeans and by Israelis.[1]

In November 1942, as word seeped out of Europe about mass killings of Jewish families, Israel's founding Prime Minister

Ben Gurion said that Jews were being “buried alive in graves dug by them . . . because the Jews have no political standing, no Jewish army, no Jewish independence, and no homeland.”[1]

The consensus view in Europe is that

racial supremacism. He states that what the Jews lacked was a Jewish state in which they could have sought refuge. The consensus view among Israelis is that Israel is the most effective response to the Holocaust.[1][2]

Criticism

John Fonte, writing in the National Review, described Virtue as a book "that will become a classic."[2] In February 2019, the book won the Paolucci Book Award from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.[6]

Reviewing the book for

Modern Age stated that Hazony's argument “rests on a confusing and counterproductive use of terms.”[9]

Some reviewers commented that Hazony's theory and defense of nationalism does not appear to take into account the historical body of nationalist thought, possibly to make his position more palatable to his readership.[10][11] For instance, an essay by Michael Shindler in Jacobite, notes that Hazony's theory is heavily derived from recent scholarship from Israel and the anglosphere (particularly Fania Oz-Salzberger’s 'The Jewish Roots of Western Freedom,' and Philip Gorski’s The Mosaic Moment), which depicts "nationalism as a descendant of the biblical Israeli model," as opposed to the "robust body of nationalist theory that’s been developing since the 19th century." This lack of engagement, Shindler claims, is "conspicuous" since that body of literature, though it is "quite cogent...admits that nationalism is culpable of precisely what it is accused of by its liberal critics."[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Stoll, Ira (9 September 2009). "Israel Emerges As an Avatar Of Nationalism (book review)". The New York Sun. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Fonte, John (13 September 2018). "In Defense of Nations (book review)". National Review. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  3. ^ a b Ungar-Sargon, Batya (24 June 2018). "The Liberal Case For Nationalism". The Forward. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  4. ^ Gordon, Evelyn (15 August 2018). "Obsolete or Indispensable?". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  5. ^ Riley, Geoffrey (12 September 2018). "Author Says Nationalism Can Be A Force For Good". Jefferson Public Radio. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Conservative Book of the Year Award | Intercollegiate Studies Institute: Educating for Liberty". home.isi.org. Archived from the original on 2019-02-13.
  7. ^ Vogt, Justin (14 September 2018). "Modern Political Ideas (book review)". New York Times. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  8. ^ MacDougald, Park (21 September 2018). "Are You a Nationalist or an Imperialist?". NyMAg. New York Magazine. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  9. ^ Goldman, Samuel (July 18, 2018). "Yoram Hazony and the New Nationalism". Modern Age. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  10. ^ Koyama, Mark (25 September 2018). "A Nationalism Untethered to History". Liberal Currents. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  11. ^ Koss, Andrew (November 26, 2018). "How to Defend Nationalism, and How Not to". Mosaic Magazine.
  12. ^ Shindler, Michael (July 9, 2019). "Nationalism Qua Nationalism". Jacobite. Retrieved 19 July 2019.