Nationalism has a bad name. For many Americans, mention of the word summons up visions of Hitler and Nazism. Some condemn nationalism as thoughtless bragging that your nation is better than others, which should be discouraged just as second graders are told not to brag lest they hurt classmates’ feelings.
Historical and international perspective is supplied by one of the conveners of the well-attended conference of “National Conservatism” in Washington last month, Israeli think tank head Yoram Hazony, in his 2018 book The Virtue of Nationalism Hazony argues that nationalism first emerged in the northwest corner of Europe, in Tudor England and in the Dutch republic rebelling against the overlordship of the King of Spain. These were small maritime nations, growing rich through international trade even while threatened by massive monarchies. In the years of religious wars they were the most religiously diverse and tolerant polities in Christendom.
