For love of country? : [in a new democracy forum on the limits of patriotism

After the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, American flags appeared everywhere. Is patriotism a good response at a time of national crisis? What does it mean for us to think of ourselves as a nation first?With our connections to the world growing stronger and more vital than ever, Martha C. Nussbaum argues that we should distrust conventional patriotism as parochial and instead see ourselves first of all as "citizens of the world." Sixteen prominent writers and thinkers respond, including Benjamin R. Barber, Sissela Bok, Nathan Glazer, Robert Pinsky, Elaine Scarry, Amartya Sen, and Michael Walzer.NEW DEMOCRACY FORUMA series of short paperback originals exploring creative solutions to our most urgent national concerns. The series editors (for Boston Review), Joshua Cohen and Joel Rogers, aim to foster politically engaged, intellectually honest, and morally serious debate about fundamental issues-both on and off the agenda of conventional politics. The Poems, Songs, Speeches, Letters, And Historical Documents Chosen By Caroline Kennedy For This Collection Remind Us Of The Foundations On Which America Was Built, And Urge Us To Examine What It Truly Means To Be A Patriot, Even If Our Assumptions Are Challenged Along The Way. Patriotism And Cosmopolitanism / Martha C. Nussbaum -- Cosmopolitan Patriots / Kwame Anthony Appiah -- Constitutional Faith / Benjamin R. Barber -- From Part To Whole / Sissela Bok -- Universality In Culture / Judith Butler -- Revisioning Cosmopolitanism / Richard Falk -- Limits Of Loyalty / Nathan Glazer -- Democratic Citizenship / Amy Gutmann -- The Illusions Of Cosmopolitanism / Gertrude Himmelfarb -- Don't Neglect The Little Platoons / Michael W. Mcconnell -- Eros Against Esperanto / Robert Pinsky -- Must We Choose Between Patriotism And Universal Reason? / Hilary Putnam -- The Difficulty Of Imaging Other People / Elaine Scarry -- Humanity And Citizenship / Amartya Sen -- Why Democracy Needs Patriotism / Charles Taylor -- Neither Patriotism Nor Cosmopolitanism / Immanuel Wallerstein -- Spheres Of Affection / Michael Walzer --- Reply / Martha C. Nussbaum. Martha C. Nussbaum ; Edited By Joshua Cohen For Boston Review. Originally Published: For Love Of Country : Debating The Limits Of Patriotism. C1996. With New Editor's Pref. And New Introd. By The Author. Includes Bibliographical References. For Love of Country is a rare forum: a real conversation among some of our most prominent intellectuals about an issue of urgent public importance. At the center of this lively and utterly readable debate book is Martha Nussbaumi's passionate argument against patriotism. At a time when our connections and obligations to the rest of the world grow only stronger, we should reject patriotism as a parochial ideal, she says, and instead see ourselves first of all as "citizens of the world." Fifteen writers and thinkers respond to Nussbaum's piece in short, hard-hitting, often brilliant essays, acknowledging the power of her argument, but often defending patriotisms and other local commitments with an eloquence equal to Nussbaum's. We hear from an astonishing range of writers from Robert Pinsky to Cornel West to Gertrude Himmelfarb to Sissela Bok. This is contemporary American philosophy at its most relevant and readable. At a time when debates about crises in Bosnia or Somalia are dominated by politicians and military leaders, here are the voices of philosophers and poets, literary scholars and historians. A book of surprising insights and diversity, For Love of Country is especially written for a wide audience and is sure to spark debate. -- Publisher description For Love of Country is a rare forum - an exciting conversation among some of our most prominent intellectuals about where our basic loyalties should lie. At the center of this lively, accessible book of debate is Martha Nussbaum's passionate argument for "cosmopolitanism." With our connections to the rest of the world growing stronger, she argues, we should distrust conventional patriotism as a parochial ideal, and instead see ourselves first of all as "citizens of the world.". Sixteen writers and thinkers respond to Nussbaum's piece in short, hard-hitting essays, acknowledging the power of her argument, but often defending patriotisms and other local commitments. We hear from an astonishing range of writers - philosophers and poets, literary scholars and historians. Nussbaum reaffirms the cosmopolitan ideal in a moving closing essay. This is a book for all citizens. Representing American philosophy at its most relevant and readable, For Love of Country will shape the way we think about some of our most urgent public issues and deepest human obligations.