Unpatriotic Bitterness in France.
In France this patriotic union is only seen after war has been actually declared and whilst the conflict is going on. It was, no doubt, shown during the war with Germany, when reactionary noblemen fought under the orders of Gambetta, whom they inwardly execrated, but in times of peace the conduct of French oppositions is rarely patriotic. The line of policy pursued by the reactionary parties at the present day is simply to discredit the Republic, even at the expense of France. To that end they are always willing to upset every cabinet in order to prove the instability of existing institutions, yet at the same time they must be fully aware that their policy is against all the commercial and foreign interests of the country. The disingenuousness of their conduct is clear when they first join the radicals in upsetting a cabinet and then turn round and say, “How lamentable it is that no cabinet, under the Republic, can last more than a few months!” As this book deals only with the present I need not do more than refer to the alliance between the French reactionists and foreign Powers early in the present century, and to the contentment with which they accepted the defeat that led to the Restoration. I should be sorry to attribute to the reactionists opinions which are made for them by their enemies, but it is not too much to say that some of them prefer the Prussians to the republicans, and look to a civil war without disfavour, in spite of all the horrors that it would inflict upon their country. Nor is this bitter spirit of reckless hate by any means confined to the monarchical parties. Is it possible to imagine anything more completely anti-patriotic than the conduct of the Parisian communards in 1871?
Hatred and Patriotism.
Vulgar and enlightened Patriotism.
The idea of patriotic duty has usually, in the past, been confounded with the passion of hatred. An Englishman who did not hate the French was considered to be unpatriotic, especially if he objected to useless bloodshed and advocated, whenever possible, a policy of conciliation. A few reasonable beings on both sides of the Channel are now beginning to perceive that it is not always, in reality, the most patriotic policy to waste the treasure of their own country and send their own countrymen to slaughter; for this is what blind hatred always comes to in the end. The objects of a patriotic mind alter with the degree of its enlightenment. In rude and ignorant natures patriotism is hatred of the foreigner; in cultivated and generous natures it is a wise and watchful desire for the happiness and prosperity of one’s native land. When vulgar patriotism blusters and is quarrelsome, intelligent patriotism keeps a cool head and cleverly steers the ship. The passion of hatred ought to be kept out of international affairs, as a lawyer keeps it out of legal business, looking only to the interest of his client. The vulgar French are childish enough to hate the English; if the English do not hate them in return, the advantage will be all their own.
PART III
POLITICS
CHAPTER I
REVOLUTION
There is a strong resemblance between the great French and English political movements of modern times, but they differ from each other chronologically, and also in the terms by which they are usually described.
Misleading Use of the Words “Monarchy” and “Republic.”
The resemblance is seen at once when we use the terms that are equally applicable to both. The word “Monarchy,” for example, is misleading, because it is still used in the case of England, where one man does not govern, and where popular representative institutions have irresistibly developed themselves. The word “Republic” is misleading in another way, because it is insidiously associated with communism by the enemies of genuine parliamentary government.