Kant’s Cosmopolitan Patriotismxy *

Abstract

Immanuel Kant states that national delusion should be "eradicated" and replaced by "patriotism and cosmopolitism". Many people assume that cosmopolitanism is incompatible with patriotism. Kant also defends a political version of cosmopolitanism. Two aspects of his political philosophy are relevant here: his well-known theory of the league of states, and the less familiar doctrine of 'cosmopolitan law'. Kant's moral and political cosmopolitanism raises the question as to whether it leaves any room for patriotism at all. This chapter describes the kinds of patriotism that Kant defends and then examines his arguments in more detail. They are: civic patriotism; nationalist patriotism; quality-based patriotism. The chapter argues that civic patriotism is the only form of patriotism that Kant can consistently defend as a duty. Kant's defense of the duty of nationalist patriotism fails, and his theory does not leave room for a duty of trait-based patriotism.