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What can Examining the Psychology of Nationalism Tell Us About Our Prospects for Aiming at the Cosmopolitan Vision?

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Abstract

Opponents of cosmopolitanism often dismiss the position on the grounds that cosmopolitan proposals are completely unrealistic and that they fly in the face of our human nature. We have deep psychological needs that are satisfied by national identification and so all cosmopolitan projects are doomed, or so it is argued. In this essay we examine the psychological grounds claimed to support the importance of nationalism to our wellbeing. We argue that the alleged human needs that nationalism is said to satisfy are: (i) either more complex than initially one might think or (ii) do not necessarily provide very strong grounds for the theses advocated by nationalists or (iii) can be well met in alternate ways than through national identification. Moreover, commitment to cosmopolitanism is not antithetical to meeting these needs: rather, more cosmopolitan worldviews can do quite well in meeting the needs of interest. Moreover, we argue that since nationalism is a fluid and socially constructed phenomenon, quite open to the influence of other factors, the current evidence suggests that central aspects of cosmopolitanism are quite feasible and realistic.

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Notes

  1. For critical discussion and defense of some of these ideas see, for instance: Brock 1999, 2002a, b, c, d, 2005.

  2. See, for instance: Brock 1999, 2002a, b, c, d, 2005.

  3. ‘Ethnocentrism’ refers to the perception that one’s own group is the standard by which others should be judged, and that this group is somehow superior to other groups (Sumner 1906). Groups can be racially or ethnically defined but this is not the only use of the term. Nationalism thus represents a specific type of ethnocentrism at the level of the national group.

  4. Moreover, recent evidence makes clear that in contrast to the view that people simply passively adopt whatever views others hold of them into their self-concept, evidence from the last two decades shows that people actually engage in several strategies to protect or enhance their self-esteem when others regard their social groups negatively. So, for instance, individuals can detach their self-esteem from others’ evaluations, or disengage their sense of self from the outcomes in particular domains and contexts (Gilbert et al. 1998, 529). Stigma does not necessarily affect psychological well-being. The stigmatized are not especially dissatisfied with their lives, in fact most of them claim to be pretty happy (Gilbert et al. 1998, 531).

  5. We are grateful for the useful comments made by two anonymous reviewers for this journal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Philosophy Department, University of Auckland, 507 International Fisher Building, 18 Waterloo Quadrant, Auckland, 1000, New Zealand

    Gillian Brock

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Oxford, 61 Banbury Rd, Oxford, OX2 6PF, UK

    Quentin D. Atkinson

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  1. Gillian Brock
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  2. Quentin D. Atkinson
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Correspondence to Gillian Brock.

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Brock, G., Atkinson, Q.D. What can Examining the Psychology of Nationalism Tell Us About Our Prospects for Aiming at the Cosmopolitan Vision?. Ethic Theory Moral Prac 11, 165–179 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-007-9087-1

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