Liberalism and Nationalism in Western Civilization Research Paper

Amongst the diverse ideologies in the world, Liberalism and Nationalism have proved to be the most enduring and popular. The concepts of liberalism and nationalism are typically a western construct of rational, reasoning, objective, and analytical traditions which have their origins in the Greek civilization, the world’s first progenitors of city-states and democracies. Eastern thought, based on polytheistic religions and syncretism gave rise to different connotations of liberalism and nationalism.

Numerous civilizations rose and fell leaving behind six major entities which Huntington (1996), identified as Sinic (Chinese), Japanese, Hindu, Islamic, Western, and Latin American(45). The success of western ideals of liberalism and nationalism was adopted by eastern civilizations in varying degrees of assimilation. Along with the Japanese, the Hindu (India) civilization has been more successful in imbibing the ideologies of nationalism and liberalism than China, and therefore this essay aims to explain why as also firstly compare and contrast liberalism with nationalism.

Liberalism means different things to different people. According to Starr (2007), liberalism is:

a philosophy of opposition, whether to feudal privilege, absolute monarchy, colonialism, theocracy, communism, or fascism, liberalism has served, as the word suggests, as a force for liberation, or at least liberalization—for the opening up of channels of free initiative(34).

Proponents of economic liberalism define liberalism as the freedom to indulge in any sort of economic activity sans restrictions. Nationalism on the other hand implies geographical boundaries and delineation based on the same ethnic grouping, religion, and commonly held beliefs. Nationalism may or may not include shades of liberalism depending upon the type of political system governing a particular country.

While liberalism in its true sense is premised on ‘freedom’, nationalism at times applies restrictions on individual or collective freedom in the larger ‘national interests’. Nationalism can easily take on negative tones and in some cases be based on perceived ‘national humiliation. German nationalism after the First World War was fuelled by the perceived humiliation heaped upon the German people through the Treaty of Versailles leading to the popular rise of Hitler and Fascism. “Humiliation has been an integral part of the construction of Chinese nationalism” (Callahan, 2004, p.200).

The East European countries under the Soviet thrall were examples of nationalism sans liberalism. The inclusion of liberalism into nationalism has not been without its teething troubles. In the initial years, nations went through intense turmoil to rationalize the limits of liberalism in relation to the degree of control required to administer a nation-state. This paradox is very aptly brought out by Hejazi (2007), who states that “One could claim that, according to liberal principles, there is no moral justification for national boundaries and the universal principles of justice and equality requires a single world-state”(16).

Some of these schisms still exist today and are in a process of evolving. Acceptance of homosexuality and lesbianism is one such facet of sexual liberalism, which according to some nations is causing an adverse impact on their national character and national values. Others decry that economic liberalism is leading to an existential threat to the concept of nationalism. Those with a more positive outlook affirm that globalization is leading to the internationalization of liberalism in all its myriad forms which in turn may finally result in a sort of Supra-nationalistic world order. The positive effects of liberalism and nationalism are evident by its spread to almost the entire Western world with Africa and Asia slowly but surely imbibing its precepts.

Perhaps the civilization which found it most easy to absorb liberalism and nationalism was the Hindu Civilization now transformed into a nation-state – India. This 5000-year old civilization with its main credo of ‘synthesis’ and ‘syncretism’ ensured that invasions by the Greeks, Muslims along with their particular philosophies and ideologies were simply absorbed into the overall fabric of the society. In the British colonial period, the import of western ideals of nationalism and liberalism were quickly incorporated and modified by the Indians to suit their own unique social circumstances.

Shah (2002), says “Modern liberalism in India took roots during the social reforms movements of the middle and late nineteenth century”(1). Western liberal thought was responsible for loosening the stranglehold of the centuries-old rigid caste system. Western ideals of nationalism were used by Mahatma Gandhi to stoke Indian Nationalism through a unique blend of western ideas and Indian philosophy of ‘Satyagraha’ or civil disobedience through nonviolence. So successful was the campaign that it led to the Independence of India and metamorphosis into a nation with a written constitution based to a large extent on the western ideals of liberal democracy.

Undoubtedly liberalism and nationalism have clashed over the period of human history. Wherever the conflict was amicably managed, prosperity was the result. The evolution of nationalism and liberalism will continue at a faster pace in this era of globalization. Finding a median balance between the precepts of liberalism and the dictates of nationalism will be a challenge for the leaders, political scientists, and theorists in the years to come.

References

Callahan, William A. (2004). “National Insecurities: Humiliation, Salvation, and Chinese Nationalism”. Web.

Hejazi, Omid. (2007). “Evaluating Nationalism in the Liberal Framework”. Web.

Huntington, Samuel. (1996). “ The Clash of Civilization and the Remaking of World Order”. Penguin Books. NY, USA.

Shah, Parth J. (2002). “Evolution of Liberalism in India”. Liberal Times, Vol. X No.4/2002. Web.

Starr, Paul. (2007). “Why Liberalism Works”. Web.