Patriotism and Other Mistakes

459 Pages·2008·1.874 MB·English

by  Kateb, George

Patriotism and Other Mistakes

G E O R G E K AT E B
Patriotism and
Other Mistakes
Yale University Press
New Haven &
London
Copyright ∫ 2006 by George Kateb.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in
any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S.
Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written
permission from the publishers.
Set in Sabon type by Keystone Typesetting, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kateb, George.
Patriotism and other mistakes / George Kateb.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 978-0-300-12049-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-300-12049-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Political psychology. 2. Political science—Moral and ethical aspects. I. Title.
ja74.5.k377 2006
320.01%9—dc22
2006047369
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the
Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on
Library Resources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To John Hollander and David Bromwich

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
Part 1. Liberty and the American Constitution
1. Is Patriotism a Mistake? 3
2. Notes on Pluralism 21
3. Undermining the Constitution 41
4. A Life of Fear 60
5. On Being Watched and Known 93
Part 2. Politics, Aesthetics, and Morality
6. Aestheticism and Morality: Their Cooperation and Hostility 117
7. The Judgment of Arendt 150
8. Courage as a Virtue 169
9. Technology and Philosophy 196
viii Contents
Part 3. The Adequacy of the Canon
10. Socratic Integrity 215
11. Wildness and Conscience: Thoreau and Emerson 245
12. Prohibition and Transgression 272
13. Hobbes and the Irrationality of Politics 298
14. Ideology and Storytelling 334
15. Can Cultures Be Judged?:
Two Defenses of Cultural Pluralism in Isaiah Berlin’s Work 361
16. The Adequacy of the Canon 384
Index 409
Acknowledgments
Most of the essays in this volume deal with the perplexities that inhere in
the question of political motives and intentions. The field of inquiry is, to use
an old-fashioned term, moral psychology. The particular emphasis is on the
passions that goad innovative or extreme or excessive political conduct and
other cognate human endeavors. The morally driven and creative daring of
Socrates and Thoreau is discussed, and so is the radically assertive mentality
that produces fanatical movements and totalitarian dictatorships. There are
glances as well at the enticements of war, technological advance, political
participation, and emergency action. There is even a look at the original trans-
gression in the Garden of Eden.
It will be evident that in the course of thinking about these matters I have
learned much from the work of Hannah Arendt, though I cannot resist taking
issue with her on a number of points. I am indebted to many colleagues in the
field of political theory; their names appear in the acknowledgments of the
individual articles. I have also benefited from the intellectual company of
Sharon Cameron, Arien Mack, Morton Schoolman, Tracy Strong, Dana Villa,
and James P. Young.
I wish to acknowledge the encouragement and support of John Kulka, se-
nior editor at Yale University Press, who proposed collecting the essays and
helped me think about the shape and point of the book.
ix