Racism, sexism and patriotism require human beings be treated differently for no good reason. At least racism and sexism don't require you to die for the cause, unlike patriotism.

You accept your race is no better than mine,
so you're not a racist.

The Black Lives Matter movement worldwide reminds us that race is still a major stumbling block in human unification. Unless race is universally regarded as not a good reason to treat people differently then regarding nationality as no better a reason than race for treating people differently has no chance of acceptance. And unless nationalism is forced to a back seat, war is sooner or later inevitable.

You accept your gender is no better than mine,
so you're not a sexist.

The MeToo movement reminds us just how far gender equality has yet to go before male, female and transgender are treated equally.

IF YOU ACCEPT YOUR COUNTRY IS NO BETTER THAN MINE,
THEN YOU REJECT PATRIOTISM.

America blaming the SARS Covid-19 virus on China plus the antecedent trade war has activated the Thucydides Trap, first warned of almost 2,500 years ago by Thucydides in his book 'The Peloponnesian War'. It warns of the inevitability of war when a hitherto dominant state (for Thucydides, Athens) is threatened by the emergence of a new state (Sparta). Xi Jinping, the President of China, now relegated to the title General Secretary by America, specifically discussed how China's rise could avoid the Thucydides Trap. One can be a Sinophile while condemning China's fascist system.

PATRIOTISM IS THE SAME AS RACISM AND SEXISM EXCEPT THAT PATRIOTISM MIGHT ORDER YOU FIGHT AND BE FOUGHT AGAINST, KILL AND BE KILLED.

And remember that should war come there will be no more talk from brave voices like Greta Thunberg of climate change, just nuclear winter.

First and foremost we are human beings,
global citizens.

As much as no reasonable person today regards the earth as flat, no reasonable person will in future regard patriotism as virtuous.

Our allegiance must first and foremost be to humanity, not the nation, if this planet, it’s people, animals and plants are to survive. Patriotism is no different to racism or sexism. It provides no good reason to treat people differently. Patriotism is in fact treason on humanity. Its just another immoral 'ism'.

Recognizing this is important in itself. If enough of us reject patriotism, things will change. World government, even an end to the veto in the United Nations Security Council may be decades or a century away. In the meantime an individual's scepticism of patriotism can effect change. This scepticism can take many forms. Some of these are canvassed below.

Count Leo Tolstoy, author of 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina’ clearly articulated the idea of patriotism as war mongering when he wrote against the background of a possible war between Great Britain and The United States over which was to control Venezuela in 1896:

"Obviously, to avoid war, it is necessary, not to preach sermons and pray God for peace..., but to destroy the root of war. And that is, the exclusive desire for the well-being of one's own people; it is patriotism. Therefore, to destroy war, destroy patriotism".

The Greek stoic philosopher Terence, much repeated by G.W.F. Hegel, Karl Marx and other humanists, succinctly wrote:

"Nothing human is alien to me".

Perhaps many national border security agencies today regard anything alien as non-human to them.

Professor Eugene Kamenka, 'Australia Made Me, But Which Australia is Mine'.

“Nationalism, then, is a subordinate principle and a parasitic, ambiguous ideology, capable of producing a Mazzini and Palacki, or an SS thug. ...Nationalism is best left to drop off into little more than a mildly patriotic sentiment".

The author of '2001 - a Space Odyssey', Sir Arthur Clarke puts it cryptically for the age of space exploration:

“There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum.”

Setting out one justification for a common human essence Paul the Apostle states:

"There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither slave nor freeman, there can be neither male nor female -- for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

There are similar visions in the writings of other spokespersons for many of the worlds great religions and ethical systems. See the following links for the case against patriotism and what can be done about it.

Read “Patriotism is Treason”

The above is a work in progress and is based upon “A New Human Right – the Right to Globalisation”, 1999 Fordham International Law Review.

Read “A New Human Right – the Right to Globalisation”

The Fordham International Law Review article was in turn based on my Inaugural Professorial Lecture, “Our Allegiance – Australians or Global Citizens” (1998) Murdoch University. Australia.

Read “Our Allegiance – Australians or Global Citizens”

If you have an interest in Intellectual Property law see my website iplawsfailus.com

About the Website Originator

Emeritus Professor Michael D Pendleton

Formerly Professor of Law, Murdoch University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Senior Lecturer University of Hong Kong.

Formerly Visiting Professor University of Auckland, Adjunct Professor, University of Canterbury, Affiliate University of Otago.

Formerly Chair, Law Reform Commission of Western Australia, and appointed by Prime Minister member Australian Copyright Law Review Committees, Hong Kong Law Reform Commission Sub Committees.

Admitted as Solicitor & or Barrister - Australia, Hong Kong SAR, China (non-practising), formerly England and Wales.

Mediator, Arbitrator & Domain Name Panelist, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Geneva.

Worked for many international law firms including Baker & McKenzie (Hong Kong), Deacons (Hong Kong and Perth), Bird & Bird (London).

Written twelve legal text books and over a hundred other publications and am on the editorial board of leading law journals.

Spent more than 37 years specialising in intellectual property across Australia, England, Hong Kong, China and New Zealand. Luckily for me intellectual property is more uniform across the globe than any other area of law. Just part of what formed my views.

My maternal grandfather was at the Battle of The Somme and Gallipoli in WW1 and enlisted in WW2. One of his closest friends and neighbours was German. He stopped taking me to ANZAC Day marches in Sydney in 1965 as he believed it glorified war. He was a carpenter, newspaper editor, artist and coroner. I loved him almost as much as I love my father, who amongst other things taught me to think.

PATRIOTISM IS TREASON