Labour leader Keir Starmer opined briefly on patriotism on a Zoom call towards the end of April.
Unsurprisingly he said he was patriotic and the general drift was (I think) that wanting Britain to be better than it currently is, is patriotic. The unspoken (at least as yet) counterpoint to that is that whatever individual Tories may say the experience of the last 10 years suggests they do not want Britain to be better. They do want profits to be better though.
It is a view. Personally I’d start from the perspective that socialists are internationalists with strong interests across national boundaries.
The matter is complex though. During the Labour leadership contest Rebecca Long Bailey raised the point of progressive patriotism. Some views of mine that are here:
Progressive Patriotism: looking at the history beyond the headlines
It is a view that has support on the left but again there are others.
However Starmer was on a Zoom call and replying that well, its all very complicated and if the questioner could just read a book or two matters might be clearer, is not a satisfactory answer.
A post lockdown equivalent might be, being in a pub watching England playing football or cricket. They win. Do you cheer or just sit there?
Anyway some very brief thoughts on patriotism can be found in the 2nd May issue of the Morning Star in the form of course of a fletter.
A summary is:
British cask beer: good
British farmhouse cheese: good
England & Wales cricket team: (probably) good
Imperialism and wars: no thanks.
Patriotism even simply expressed is complex
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