Nationalism by Rabindranath Tagore
Nationalism Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore. “Nationalism.” (Kessinger Publishing, 1917).
The book ‘Nationalism’ is a composition of three dimensions of nationalism whereas Rabindranath Tagore has focused onto the nationalism in west, nationalism in Japan and nationalism in India. This book was written in 1917 about the nation state and how the east should adjust to modernization. It is a well thought out and balanced view of society that reads more like poetry than like political philosophy. The just of the book is that the East and America must evolve in a way that is not mechanical but moral and human. Though this book is written in 1917 it is surprisingly applicable to our current situation
In accordance with the conception of Tagore, nation is the aspect of the whole people. Whatever now I’d like to draw attention here to the difficulties that exist in trying to uncover Tagore’s inner logic and rationality. Here Tagore defined that nation is based on some worthy but many entirely abject organized self-interest, greed for wealth , and shallow power , fear of exploitation by an alienating and mechanical mode of production ,the delusion of freedom, the fall of virtue, unconsciousness, an unsustainable future that will lead to catastrophe and so on.
The western nation is conterminous with the nation state, the mechanical organization of people in pursuit of material enhancement and hence aggressive and imperialist in character. In fact, for nationalism we might often read imperialism. The people of the west have deluded themselves into sacrificing their own freedoms for the good of the Nation, natively believing that the good of the nation is same as the good of the people, when in reality they have simply bartered their “higher aspirations in life for profit and power”.
In the chapter Nationalism in Japan, Tagore praised Japanese approach toward the development which is not separated from humanity and morality.
Rabindranath Tagore. “Nationalism.” (Kessinger Publishing, 1917).
The book ‘Nationalism’ is a composition of three dimensions of nationalism whereas Rabindranath Tagore has focused onto the nationalism in west, nationalism in Japan and nationalism in India. This book was written in 1917 about the nation state and how the east should adjust to modernization. It is a well thought out and balanced view of society that reads more like poetry than like political philosophy. The just of the book is that the East and America must evolve in a way that is not mechanical but moral and human. Though this book is written in 1917 it is surprisingly applicable to our current situation
In accordance with the conception of Tagore, nation is the aspect of the whole people. Whatever now I’d like to draw attention here to the difficulties that exist in trying to uncover Tagore’s inner logic and rationality. Here Tagore defined that nation is based on some worthy but many entirely abject organized self-interest, greed for wealth , and shallow power , fear of exploitation by an alienating and mechanical mode of production ,the delusion of freedom, the fall of virtue, unconsciousness, an unsustainable future that will lead to catastrophe and so on.
The western nation is conterminous with the nation state, the mechanical organization of people in pursuit of material enhancement and hence aggressive and imperialist in character. In fact, for nationalism we might often read imperialism. The people of the west have deluded themselves into sacrificing their own freedoms for the good of the Nation, natively believing that the good of the nation is same as the good of the people, when in reality they have simply bartered their “higher aspirations in life for profit and power”.
In the chapter Nationalism in Japan, Tagore praised Japanese approach toward the development which is not separated from humanity and morality.