Reclaiming National Identity for a Fairer Society

The idea of a nation is enshrined in a shared identity, a collective story, a people united by more than just abstract borders and it is one of the most powerful forces in human history. It can bind strangers together with a sense of belonging. It can inspire sacrifice, courage, and unity but it can also be twisted into a tool of division, fear, and control.

In recent decades, the very concept of national identity has become politically radioactive. On one side, we see aggressive nationalism, often linked to authoritarianism, exclusion, and violence. On the other, we see a tendency to treat national pride as outdated, dangerous, or inherently oppressive. The result is a fractured society, one half ashamed to express identity, the other half exploited by those offering false unity.

But here’s the truth:

A healthy, inclusive, modern nation needs a strong sense of shared identity. Without it, the social contract cannot hold.

National Identity as the Bedrock of the Social Contract

A social contract, the agreement between people and their government, requires more than laws. It requires a shared purpose, mutual loyalty, and a belief that we’re all part of the same story.

People will not engage, contribute, or defend a society they feel disconnected or disenfranchised from. They will not protect a country that tells them or makes them feel they do not belong, and they will not invest in a future they feel excluded from.

This is why national identity matters, not as propaganda, not as ideology, but as social glue. It gives meaning to citizenship. It turns rights and responsibilities into something deeper, a relationship of trust and belonging between citizens and the state.

The Hijacking of National Identity

Unfortunately, nationalism has too often been hijacked.

• Fascism uses fear and reduces national identity to race, blood, or militarism.
• Communism, in its authoritarian forms, it fuses identity with the state and erases individuality and diversity.
• Most Populism exploits identity to divide with “us vs them,” insiders vs outsiders.

And the response from many on the modern left has been to abandon national identity altogether, treating it as a relic of colonialism, xenophobia, or control.

But abandoning national identity doesn’t defeat extremism, it concedes the entire conversation to it.

Societies must reclaim it, not with nostalgia or tribalism, but with honesty, openness, and courage.

What a Modern, Positive National Identity Looks Like

We can, and must, build a national identity that.

• Celebrates diversity without erasing shared values.
• Acknowledges past mistakes without being paralysed by guilt.
• Invites participation from all citizens, regardless of background.
• Encourages pride not in domination, but in progress, fairness, and resilience.
• Links identity to responsibility, not just entitlements.
• Identifies genuine fears within society and educates to eradicate them.

This kind of national identity is not about flags or slogans, it is about knowing who we are together, and why we are worth defending, as a community, as a people, and as a democratic society.

Why the Social Contract Needs Identity

You cannot build a society on rights and responsibilities alone. People must feel they are part of something bigger than themselves. That they are not just taxpayers, but real citizens. Not just individuals, but members of a shared national journey to give our children and grandchildren a better future than we inherited.

Without identity.

• Responsibility feels like a burden.
• Rights feel transactional.
• Society feels like a machine, not a community.
• Communities are divided.
• Extremism finds a place to live and fester.
• People feel disconnected and disenfranchised.

With identity:

• Responsibility becomes honourable.
• Rights are treasured and defended.
• Society becomes something you belong to and build with others.
• People feel connected, proud and included.
• Our children prosper.
• Our society grows stronger.
• Our future is more robust.
• We become a nation others aspire to emulate.
• We build a legacy the entire nation has the right to be proud of.

 

 

Our Position: Patriotism Without Extremism

We believe in a modern patriotism, one that is rooted in truth, openness, and shared effort. Not blind loyalty, not archaic tribal myths, but a love for what this country can be when we work together.

We reject the extremes.

• No to flag-waving nationalism that seeks enemies to hate and sew division.
• No to self-loathing anti-nationalism that sees only the negative and nothing worth saving.

Instead, we say.

• Yes – to taking pride in fairness, innovation, resilience, and progress.
• Yes – to facing our past honestly, embracing it and learning from it to avoid the mistakes and building on our successes.
• Yes – to building a national identity that includes everyone willing to contribute.
• Yes – to building a future that provides a safe, inclusive, welcoming society for our children, grandchildren and all those willing to join us and share our values.

Rebuilding from the Middle

If we want the social contract to mean something again, we must rebuild a national identity that inspires pride without fear, unity without conformity, and strength without oppression.

Only then can we expect people to invest in the future of this, their, country. Only then will citizenship feel like a privilege, not a burden, only then can the extremes, left and right, be defused by a more honest, inclusive reality without polarised politics.

This is the path forward. Not nationalism. Not statelessness.

But

Nationhood with responsibility, integrity, honesty, inclusivity and a shared purpose.