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Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, political, or historical aspects. It may encompass a set of concepts closely related to nationalism, mostly civic nationalism and sometimes cultural nationalism.
The English language word "patriot" derived from "compatriot", in the 1590s, from Middle French patriote in the 15th century. The French word's compatriote and patriote originated directly from Late Latin patriota "fellow-countryman" in the 6th century. From Greek language "fellow countryman", from "of one's fathers", "fatherland". The term patriot was "applied to barbarians who were perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive and who had only a common Patris or fatherland." The original European meaning of patriots applied to anyone who was a fellow countryman regardless of the socio-economic status.
The use of patriotism and nationalism originally shared a similar meaning in the 19th century, but their use and connotation gradually grew apart. The Merriam-Webster defines patriotism as "love for or devotion to one’s country", whereas nationalism is defined as "loyalty and devotion to a nation". Today, nationalism has gained a more negative connotation. In contrast, patriotism is used to refer to genuine pride in one's nation, recognizing both its merits and flaws. A similar distinction between the terms was also upheld by George Orwell, whose essay Notes on Nationalism, distinguished patriotism from the related concept of nationalism:
By 'patriotism' I mean devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force upon other people. Patriotism is of its nature defensive, both militarily and culturally. Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power. The abiding purpose of every nationalist is to secure more power and more prestige, not for himself but for the nation or other unit in which he has chosen to sink his own individuality.
Enlightenment thinkers also criticized what they saw as the excess of patriotism. In 1774, Samuel Johnson published The Patriot, a critique of what he viewed as false patriotism. On the evening of 7 April 1775, he made the famous statement, "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel". James Boswell, who reported this comment in his Life of Johnson, does not provide context for the quote, and it has therefore been argued that Johnson was in fact attacking a false use of "patriotism" by contemporaries such as John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (the patriot-minister) and his supporters; Johnson spoke elsewhere in favor of what he considered "true" patriotism. However, there is no direct evidence to contradict the widely held belief that Johnson's famous remark was a criticism of patriotism itself.
Christopher Heath Wellman, professor of philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis, says a popular view of the "patriotist" position is robust obligations to compatriots and only minimal good samaritan responsibilities to foreigners. Wellman calls this position "patriotist" rather than "nationalist" to single out the members of territorial, political units rather than cultural groups.
Kōtoku Shūsui, a famous Japanese anarchist of the late 19th/early 20th century, devoted a large section of his widely read Imperialism, Monster of the Twentieth Century to a condemnation of patriotism. One of the many arguments is based on the Confucianism value of empathy: "I am as convinced as Mencius that any man would rush without hesitation to rescue a child who was about to fall into a well... A human being moved by such selfless love and charity does not pause to think whether the child is a family member or a close relative. When he rescues the child from danger, he does not even ask himself whether the child is his own or belongs to another." Patriotism is used to dehumanize others whom we would naturally have empathy for. He argues, "Patriotism is a discriminating and arbitrary sentiment confined to those who belong to a single nation-state or live together within common national borders", a sentiment cultivated and used by militarists in their drive for war.
Marxists have taken various stances regarding patriotism. On one hand, Karl Marx famously stated that "The working men have no country" and that "the supremacy of the proletariat will cause national to vanish still faster." The same view is promoted by present-day Trotskyism such as Alan Woods, who is "in favor of tearing down all frontiers and creating a socialist world commonwealth." On the other hand, Marxist-Leninists and Maoism are usually in favor of socialist patriotism based on the theory of socialism in one country.
Against Primordialism arguments in favour of national patriotism, Eric Hobsbawm wrote that such a concept was - for most of human history - "so remote from the real experience of most human beings".
Anarchism oppose patriotism. (2025). 9781317083177 ISBN 9781317083177 This was exemplified by Emma Goldman, who stated:
Indeed, conceit, arrogance, and egotism are the essentials of patriotism. Let me illustrate. Patriotism assumes that our globe is divided into little spots, each one surrounded by an iron gate. Those who have had the fortune of being born on some particular spot, consider themselves better, nobler, grander, and more intelligent than the living beings inhabiting any other spot. It is, therefore, the duty of everyone living in that chosen spot to fight, kill, and die in an attempt to impose his superiority upon all the others.
, the World Values Survey polls for national values and beliefs. The survey includes the question "Are you proud to be insert?"; the answers to which range from 1 (not proud) to 4 (very proud). They then use the average answer given to create comparisons between not only nations but also high and low income citizens.
In 2022, U.S. adults who said they were "extremely proud" to be an American hit an all-time low, according to a Gallup poll.
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