Article snippet: We were told that there was every reason to be dismayed—that nationalism was “the very opposite” of patriotism. While we all feel patriotic on occasion, we are told that we should never ever feel nationalistic. It is not obvious why that should be the case, but it is affirmed by the authority of the President of France. Now, it is not at all clear that the distinction offered is true, and if true, how it was intended to help. At this point we can only undertake reasoned speculation. For most of us, the terms “nationalism” and “patriotism” are sufficiently similar to qualify as synonyms in most dictionaries. There is some suggestion that the one is a sentiment and the other is the sentiment in act. In effect, it is generally understood that one expresses one’s nationalism in patriotic acts. But the French President suggests something more than that. He suggests that each of these terms has an entirely different reference. Each refers to an entirely different something. One cannot be both a nationalist and a patriot—for the President of France, they are mutually exclusive. One is the opposite of the other. The President of France apparently knows something we do not. The fact is that in the recent political history of our time, there were some who made that very same distinction. Foremost among them was Josef Stalin. It is a story worth the telling. It seems that the founders of classical Marxism, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, were convinced that nationalism was ... Link to the full article to read more