Pakistan and Patriotism
An analysis of motivation towards the patriotic spirit
The question of whether one should stay in this country for good or one should plan to eventually move out has now become very commonplace. With the ongoing, and presumably upcoming, economic and sociopolitical situation of this country, the curiosity about one’s future here is inevitable. The previous month being the one of our independence made me wonder about how essential it really is to be patriotic, and why, or why not, should a person leave their homeland.
To start with, we need to understand what patriotism essentially is. Patriotism fundamentally is one’s love for one’s country. In terms of actions, it can be interpreted into two categories — the first one being the pride, which refers here to bearing the identity of that country, and the second one being the devotion, which refers here to be willing to do everything possible for the survival and success of that country.
Patriotism
Is patriotism unconditional? I don’t think so. One’s motivation to acquire, or to keep, any identity has to be driven by a certain sense of fulfilment or satisfaction which that identity has to offer. Similarly, one’s willingness to contribute to the survival and success of any group that one belongs to requires a certain sense of gratitude and thankfulness which that group has to earn.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow, around the middle of the twentieth century, put forward a theory for a hierarchy of needs, classifying all the human needs into 5 levels and then listing those levels on the basis of the order of their priority. Later, this hierarchy was updated to 8 levels of needs.
For the purpose of this discussion, we will focus mainly on the updated hierarchy of needs with eight levels. Note that the lower four levels together identify as the “Deficiency Needs”, which highlights their significance as leaving them unfulfilled symbolizes the deficiency of things that are a necessity. The higher four levels together identify as the “Growth Needs”, as their fulfillments adds to the growth and development of an individual but people can however survive even when they are not fulfilled.
The physiological needs — which refer to the needs of nutrition and habitat that are absolutely necessary for our survival — and the safety needs — which refer to the security of our health, lives and belongings — are fundamental in nature. If a state offers only these to the people residing in it, the best that can be expected of those people is being law abiding citizens. This relationship is purely transactional. The absence of these provisions doesn’t legally justify disobedience of the law, but the willingness to remain law abiding certainly takes a hit. However, being a law abiding citizen does not make one a patriot.
The fulfillment of the social needs, however, transforms this relationship to a relational one — it stimulates people to do more than just obey the law. It enables people to value other people and develops in them a sense of love and belonging.
It is, nonetheless, the fulfillment of esteem needs that ignites the spirit of patriotism in terms of pride. It is the recognition of their efforts, and the actions of the state to reinforce them positively, that brings the admiration in belonging to that state and identifying as a representative of it to everyone else.
Similarly, while the fulfillment of the cognitive and aesthetic needs may add to their pride, it is the fulfillment of the self-actualization need in people that enables them to devote themselves to the prosperity of that state to the best of their abilities. This is what further enables the fulfillment of the transcendence needs, and people experience the willingness to sacrifice their individual selves and go beyond realism for the survival and the prosperity of the state.
The Alternate Fulfillment of the Deficiency Needs
When a state fails to fulfil the deficiency needs, including the fundamental needs of food, nutrition, habitat and security, local institutions emerge that tend to offer the fulfillment of these resources. For example, the gated communities and societies claim to offer better security than the world outside. People who can afford to live in such communities therefore choose to reside in those communities and you will find them much more “law-abiding” inside those communities and societies than they tend to be when they are outside. This is because of the establishment of the transactional relationship with those communities which the state failed to develop with the people. The state is then in direct competition with these private institutions.
As the relationship with the state gets weakened, the formation of similar relationships is based on the convenience of people. That is why it is possible for the preference of people to form this transactional relationship with another state, and can move to reside their as well if that is feasible for them. Patriotism in the presence of these alternates becomes irrelevant.
Is Patriotism Necessary?
By far we have established that it is unfair to expect anyone to be patriotic without their state fulfilling their physiological, safety, social and esteem needs at the least. But then why do we need patriotism anyway?
No individual needs to be a patriot — people can manage to live happy, successful lives without having to love any state or land. It is a need of the state to have people ready and willing to take action when required for its survival and prosperity. One institution of the state that requires patriots with the need of transcendence fulfilled as well is the military.
Conclusion
Pakistan is celebrating her fifty eighth Defense Day today. Defense for survival, as we discussed, requires patriotism of people who are motivated by transcendence, and value the survival of the state beyond their own survival. In case of Pakistan, what is interesting is that the need of transcendence is used to being fulfilled with religion. Bringing Islam into the picture as the primary purpose of the creation of this independent state enabled the spirit of patriotism unbelievably well and fueled the independence movement. However, one characteristic of the theory of the hierarchy of needs is the critical nature of the needs of the lower levels. Despite the fulfillment of the needs of the higher levels, as soon as one of the basic needs emerges due to lack of its fulfilment, it just takes all the attention.
Let’s hope that the fundamental needs take precedence in the mission of the state soon so that delivering towards the fulfilment of these needs, can result into Pakistanis revitalizing their spirit of patriotism.
Long live Pakistan!
