Patriotism

Historically formed idea and feeling of loyalty and love for one’s motherland. With the appearance of the sedentary life, man produced a sentiment of love for their hometown, and later with the formation of the nation and the state, it developed into a clear national consciousness and love for motherland.

It was Lenin who first made a clear exposition of patriotism. In his pamphlet The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky, Lenin criticized Kautsky and others for their parochial national patriotism, that, “from the point of view of the proletariat, recognizing ‘defense of the fatherland’ means justifying the present war, admitting that it is legitimate,” pointing out that “patriotism” in the imperialist war is essentially national egoism and chauvinism, which serves to pursue hegemonism, aggressive policies, and war policies, and was also a betrayal of proletarian internationalism. In his pamphlet The Valuable Admissions of Pitirim Sorokin, Lenin pointed out: “One of the most deeply ingrained sentiments, inculcated by the existence of separate fatherlands for hundreds and thousands of years.” Mao Zedong also pointed out that patriotism is not an abstract thing, and that there are various kinds of patriotism according to different contents. “The specific content of patriotism depends on the historical conditions. There are Japanese aggressors and Hitler’s ‘patriotism’ and our proletarian patriotism. The Communists must resolutely oppose the so-called ‘patriotism’ of the Japanese aggressors and Hitler.”

Patriotism is a historical category with different concrete contents at different phases and in different periods of social development. The patriotism of exploiting classes has its class limitations, but it also has a positive significance under certain conditions. For example, the passion of the French bourgeoisie in the 18th century to “defend the motherland” in their struggle against domestic and foreign forces of feudal restoration. With the intensification of internal and external contradictions in capitalist countries, bourgeois patriotism has increasingly exposed its hypocrisy. But, under certain historical conditions, when the interests of the bourgeoisie comes into conflict with the interests of the nation, it often sacrifices the interests of its own state and nation and turns into treason. The unity of proletarian patriotism and internationalism proceeds from the common interests of a country’s own people and the peoples of all world nations. It has a regulatory effect on the relations of the individual with the state and the nation. Zhou Enlai pointed out that “our patriotism is socialist and people’s democratic patriotism, not bourgeois chauvinism”, “socialist patriotism is not a narrow nationalism, but a patriotism aimed to strengthen national self-confidence under the guidance of internationalism.”

Patriotism not only manifests itself in various ideologies such as politics, law, morality, art, religion and the whole superstructure, but also permeates all aspects of social life and becomes an important factor affecting the fate of the nation and the country. At the present stage of socialism in China, the main content of patriotism is to strengthen the solidarity of all ethnic groups, strata, people from all walks of life and all patriotic forces, strive for the reunification of the motherland, oppose hegemonism, safeguard world peace, strengthen national defense, safeguard national security, and carry forward the spirit of self-reliance and arduous struggle, persist in reform, be brave in innovation, realize socialist modernization and strive for the realization of socialist modernization and the building of China into a modern socialist country that is rich, strong, democratic, civilized and harmonious. The patriotism we are talking about, as a lofty spirit embodying the people’s deeply ingrained sentiments for their motherland, is closely connected with the promotion of historical development and to the maintenance of national independence and the fundamental interests of the broad masses of the people. During the period of the new-democratic revolution, patriotism mainly manifested itself in the struggle to overthrow the reactionary rule of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism and transform the dark Old China into a bright New China. At the present stage, patriotism coincides with socialism, and mainly manifests itself in dedicating oneself to the cause of building and defending socialist modernization and of promoting the reunification of the motherland.

Patriotism is the glorious tradition and lofty virtue of the Chinese nation as well as the political basis and moral basis for the great solidarity of all ethnic groups in China. Patriotism concretely manifests itself as people’s attachment to the great rivers and lands, beautiful mountains and rivers as well as in their love for the history and culture, customs and habits of their own nation, and even more so in their defense of their motherland’s territorial sovereignty and social system. Patriotism, as a kind of emotional expression, a constant process of gradual deepening from lower to higher, embodied in the patriotic feeling of love for the motherland as a whole, which can, through practical tempering and deepening, be sublimated to a higher feeling that embodies national self-esteem, national self-confidence and national pride in a concentrated manner.