"Progressive nationalism"

What is "progressive nationalism"?
What is its definition?
This is a chance to have your say on just what you think it means.

IMHO, progressive nationalism is a form of nationalism based primarily on love for one's nation, as well the belief in the right to self-determination for all nations.

With respect to the context of the forum, I already made my point in this thread.

However, speaking from a personal standpoint, I would say that progressive nationalism is a form of collective identity based upon certain national bonds —those being subject to a criteria determined by a given community, rather than a bourgeois state or its predecessor. (The implications of this, within the context of the current distribution and character of so-called nation states, are self-evident.)

Furthermore, such a nationalism is inherently based upon a revolutionary socialist framework, so as to deprive it of the traditional preconditions that rendered preceding forms of (reactionary) 'nationalism' a vehicle for exploitation and imperialism. As such, progressive nationalism could only truly express itself following the abolition of capitalist social relations. In this respect, it can be argued that its development is entirely dependent upon the success of the worldwide socialist struggle against capitalism.

I think Wikipedia actually has a decent article on progressive nationalism. It summarizes it as thus:

"Left-wing nationalism describes a form of nationalism officially based upon equality, popular sovereignty, and national self-determination. It has its origins in the Jacobinism of the French Revolution. Left-wing nationalism typically espouses anti-imperialism. It stands in contrast to right-wing nationalism, and has often rejected racist nationalism and fascism."

That seems like a pretty succinct and accurate definition of the form of nationalism we espouse, though I would include anti-capitalism as one of its defining characteristics.

Genuine nationalism is an emergent human property, but it has been suppressed for a variety of reasons throughout contemporary history. Progressive nationalists simply don't believe in suppressing people's natural instinct towards cultural identity, preservation and self-determination. Mikhail Bakunin had this to say about nationalism:

"Nationality. . . is a historic, local fact which, like all real and harmless facts, has the right to claim general acceptance. . . Every people, like every person, is involuntarily that which it is and therefore has a right to be itself. . . Nationality is not a principle; it is a legitimate fact, just as individuality is. Every nationality, great or small, has the incontestable right to be itself, to live according to its own nature. This right is simply the corollary of the general principle of freedom."
Maksimov, Grigoriĭ Petrovich. The Political Philosophy of Bakunin: Scientific Anarchism, p. 325

I couldn't agree more with him.

Celtiberian wrote:I think Wikipedia actually has a decent article on progressive nationalism. It summarizes it as thus:

"Left-wing nationalism describes a form of nationalism officially based upon equality, popular sovereignty, and national self-determination. It has its origins in the Jacobinism of the French Revolution. Left-wing nationalism typically espouses anti-imperialism. It stands in contrast to right-wing nationalism, and has often rejected racist nationalism and fascism."

That seems like a pretty succinct and accurate definition of the form of nationalism we espouse, though I would include anti-capitalism as one of its defining characteristics.

Genuine nationalism is an emergent human property, but it can (and has) been suppressed for a variety of reasons throughout history. Progressive nationalists simply don't believe in suppressing people's natural instinct towards cultural identity, preservation and self-determination. Mikhail Bakunin had this to say about nationalism:

"Nationality. . . is a historic, local fact which, like all real and harmless facts, has the right to claim general acceptance. . . Every people, like every person, is involuntarily that which it is and therefore has a right to be itself. . . Nationality is not a principle; it is a legitimate fact, just as individuality is. Every nationality, great or small, has the incontestable right to be itself, to live according to its own nature. This right is simply the corollary of the general principle of freedom."
Maksimov, Grigoriĭ Petrovich. The Political Philosophy of Bakunin: Scientific Anarchism, p. 325

I couldn't agree more with him.

And I couldn't agree more with this excellant post.

However i would highlight the anti-capitalist stance that we endorse along with an anti-imperialist/colonialist position. After all how can someone endorse the concept of national self-determination and liberation through a progressive nationalism and yet still view the nationalism of others to be something denied.
We espouse a progressive nationalist agenda rather than the regressive nationalist agenda followed by the reactionary.