Tag Archives: Patriotism

The Inherent Fallacy of the Ethnic State

01 Wednesday Aug 2018

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And, still more important, the whole conception [of the nation-state] is opposed to a rule so general that it must be rooted deeply in the nature of mankind. There exists almost no country which could include all the parts of one race without including considerable parts of other races. We are bound to conclude from this that community of language is rarely, if ever, the decisive element to consider in forming states. There are other factors which together, or even occasionally singly, are no less important, e.g. geography, security, religion, economy, tradition, history. And once we override all these elements in favor of one, the linguistic, we are certainly in danger of creating artificial states which cannot last.

-Otto von Habsburg, Danubian Reconstruction 

The Virtue of Patriotism contra Thearchic Nationalism

13 Tuesday Jun 2017

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The Church is now bringing together what that tower had sundered. Of one tongue there were made many; marvel not: this was the doing of pride. Of many tongues there is made one; marvel not: this was the doing of charity. For although the sounds of tongues are various, in the heart one God is invoked, one peace preserved.

-St. Augustine, Commentary on the Gospel of St. John

In my wanderings in this valley of tears, I have always tried to uphold the virtue of Patriotism, the love of my country, the land and its peoples. I have written in the past about the perversion of Nationalism which daily undermines the true Common Good of the countries it infects. Yet as with all philosophical errors it returns under different forms in different ages. As it was invoked against the Universal Church in the Sacred Ages, now the Nationalists dare even to invoke God for their defense in this Age of Godlessness. Continue reading →

Catholic, Western, and Supranational

26 Thursday Jan 2017

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Austria has always been a stronghold of Catholicism: the former head of the supranational Holy Roman Empire, the secular arm of Christendom, has always been a luminous antithesis to all forms of provincialism. This is not primarily because Austria was the head of a great empire with many inhabitants, but rather because it was Catholic, Western, and supranational…

-Dietrich von Hildebrand, Der Genius Österreichs und der Provinzialismus

Austria, the true heir and embodiment of the Holy Roman Empire, has always reflected in its forms and institutions the true Catholic ideal of the supranational country. Ever since the Roman Empire was transformed into a truly foederatial system in the fifth century Heroic Age has Christendom striven for this ideal. However, in few institutions has this ideal ever been as wholly achieved or pursued as in the Kaiserlich und Königlich Gemeinsame Armee, the Imperial and Royal Common Army, of which the Hapsburg Restoration Movement is in part a spiritual successor and continuation. Therefore, it might be asked, what are the qualities that allowed the K.u.K. Armee to act as a unifying element of the Empire? 

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Patriotism and Nationalism: Ordered Love of Country and Disordered Attachment to Nation

13 Tuesday Sep 2016

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Patriotism, not nationalism, is the ideal political attachment. The patriot is proud of and happy about his country and the variety of cultures, languages, races, institutions, estates and classes, traditions and opinions it harbors. The nationalist is in danger of considering himself (as part of a collective unit) superior to the members of other nationalities (ethnic groups). He comes dangerously close to the racist. His loyalties have taken on a horizontal rather than a vertical character.

Nationalism is a “natural” tendency: the nation is the cultural group one is born into (natus). The patriot, however, takes a supranatural, an ethical stand. He vows loyalty and affection to the country of his birth, of his forebears, or to an adopted fatherland. Indeed, there are great countries on this globe which have grown by virtue of choice and adoption on the part of their citizens rather than by birthrates.

Nationalism (and racism) have repeatedly created dissent, rebellion, and wars. The modern “popular” mass-war has ideological or nationalistic roots and sometimes even racist undertones.

-Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, The Portland Declaration Article 21