Jabotinsky on Progressivism and Nationalism

Excerpts from Ze'ev Jabotinsky's article On nationalism published January 30, 1903:

The Fatherland newspaper, referring to the Russian guardian patriots, says: “It seems to many of them that if people of non-native Russian origin show an ardent commitment to their native land, their land, to the language God gave them, and to all the features their native way of life and needs, then in this devotion to their foreign features, there is certainly some kind of malevolence against Russia "...

... it is necessary to do justice to the Russian progressives: on this point they think in exactly the same way as the Russian guards.

Complete agreement. Allow me to replace only two or three words in the tirade of the Fatherland newspaper, and this tirade addressed to the guardians can be safely attributed to the liberals: to their land, to the language given to them by God, and to all the peculiarities of their native way of life and needs, then in this devotion to their national identity lies some kind of malicious intent against progress...

...The same ordinary progressive who everywhere insists that the ideals of a decent person should be social ideals, and by no means nationalistic, and that nationalism is ugh.

I asked these persons: “Isn’t it possible, gentlemen, to somehow combine nationalist sympathies with your broad social ideals?” And the rank and file shook their heads and determined: - No way. And they proved it to me with the following comparison:

We, progressives, wish, by the way, that there would be no wars, no national persecutions, that individual nationalities would fraternally merge and forget the borders and borders separating them. And the nationalists hamper the merger, trying to preserve its isolation for each nationality. Their ideal is directly hostile to ours ...

That's why I want to say: "you don't know your own," when this same progressive in a minute falls on the guard for disrespect for a foreigner.

...Russian progressives use the word "scientific" quite liberally. And this does not prevent them from looking at the national question in a completely childish way. I'm not talking about the fact that they see the future in a rosy light. This is a perfectly legitimate optimism. For me, too, the future is drawn relatively in a rather pleasant light.

I also hope that such an order will be established in the future, when that social soil is created on which humanity will become healthier in body and spirit. And I also believe that then there will be no war and no national persecution. And that then, no matter what wilderness of a foreign country I find myself in, everywhere I will feel myself among good neighbors and comrades.

But this is not enough for a Russian progressive. He dreams of more. He wants me, having got into a foreign land in these future blessed days, not only not to feel a hostile attitude towards myself, but not even to notice any difference at all between the people there and my compatriots.

To make me feel completely at home there...What about national characteristics?

...And if this continued, if the abyss between the social strata were to deepen, then, indeed, the "vertical" divisions of humanity, i.e., national differences, would soon be completely obscured by the immensity of the "horizontal" divisions of class differentiation.

But ... but it seems that the wagon of progress is not rolling in this direction, but just in the opposite direction, and it is the progressives who should least of all forget about this. Mankind is moving towards softening and gradually completely smoothing out the class barriers. To give all citizens equally favorable conditions for the development of spirit and body.

This, in the whole sense of my faith, is the direction of history.

And the further we go along this direction, the closer spiritually the intellectual and the peasant will become to each other.

Until, finally, they find themselves next to each other and speak, as an equal with an equal, thoughts of the same range.

The whole mechanics of what we call progress is directed towards the elimination of class dissimilarity.

And when it is eliminated - then what will happen?

...But when the class dissimilarity disappears, it is precisely then that we will see the national dissimilarity with particular clarity.

For the progress of these dissimilarity cannot be eliminated.

Progress will inspire the nations with equally just views on social questions, progress will give them equally strong technical means to fight against nature. But progress will not paint the Italian sky the same color as the Finnish sky, will not bring plains to Switzerland and will not turn Russia into a mountainous country.

Natural factors create race.

A complex, seething tangle of economic factors distorts and modifies racial characteristics to such an extent that the influence of race almost completely disappears in the historical process. To the point that in our time the concept of race is almost ignored by science.

But if progress ever regulates this maelstrom of diverse economic interests, combining them in one synthesis, then the principle of race, hitherto obscured by other influences, will straighten out and flourish.

Not only will national peculiarities not be smoothed out by progress, but, on the contrary, they will receive more space, more freedom to develop ...

...The more diverse the composition of the orchestra, the more beautiful the symphony, because the violin conveys what the flute would not convey, and there are places that are not suitable for the clarinet and must be played on the harp.

For the development of sciences, arts and poetry, for this whole symphony of the creative human spirit, a rich orchestra is also needed, and the fuller and more diverse, the better.

Each instrument has its own timbre, and each nationality has its own special spiritual warehouse.

We must cherish these timbres of nations, improve them and prevent the violin from playing the trombone, so that the Czech becomes like a Frenchman.

Life is not about cutting everyone to one size, but about diversity, in harmony with myriads of dissimilar individuals.

Nationalism is the individualism of peoples.

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