Constitutional Patriotism
Introduction
"CONSTITUTIONAL PATRIOTISM": the expression will sound in many ears like a
contradiction in terms. Constitutions serve, by definition, to limit
political power and to render power impersonal; patriotism is about
mobilizing men and women for personal political sacrifice. Constitutions
are, for the most part, settlements that emerged from interest-based
bargains, they are the "autobiography of power"; while patriotism, on the
other hand, makes an appeal to transcend self-interest. Constitutions,
ideally, articulate not just norms and wider social aspirations, they also
protect individual rights; patriotism, however, tempts citizens with
illiberal forms of "group-meaningfulness" (George Kateb) and can make them
ride roughshod over civil rights and liberties. Perhaps it's true that
patriotism, as Alasdair MacIntyre once put it, "turns out to be a
permanent source of moral danger." Or it might even be the case that, as
Kateb has claimed, "patriotism is inherently disposed to disregard
morality."
"Constitutional patriotism"-as understood by those who originally put
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