The Left Must Reclaim Patriotism to Win Political Power and Advance Progressive Change
Source: Michael Kazin. "The Left Needs to Rediscover Its Patriotism - The Atlantic." June 3, 2026. www.theatlantic.com
The Gist
The author argues that liberals and progressives have made a big mistake by rejecting patriotism since the 1960s. He says successful progressive movements throughout history used America's founding principles to push for change, and the left needs to do this again to win elections and actually govern effectively.
Conclusion
The American left needs to rediscover and embrace patriotism—specifically a patriotism grounded in the nation's founding ideals—in order to effectively govern and win over the majority of Americans who love their country but want it to change.
Premises
- Throughout American history, successful progressive movements have used the nation's founding ideals (Declaration of Independence, Constitution) as both a benchmark to measure shortcomings and a means to articulate visions for a more perfect union
- Historical progressive leaders like Frederick Douglass, Eugene Debs, FDR, and Martin Luther King Jr. successfully employed patriotic rhetoric and constitutional principles to advance egalitarian reforms
- The left's abandonment of patriotism beginning in the 1960s-70s, influenced by anger over Vietnam and institutional racism, has been a political error that alienates mainstream Americans
- Contemporary anti-patriotic approaches (like Howard Zinn's framework) that view America primarily as a settler-colonial nation built on exploitation fail to provide a positive vision for change
- Most Americans remain patriotic and want to be proud of their country while also believing it needs to change—the left must appeal to this sentiment to build winning coalitions
Assumptions
- Patriotism and progressive politics are compatible and can be mutually reinforcing
- The founding ideals of America (equality, freedom, self-governance) are genuinely valuable despite the hypocrisy of their original implementation
- Political success requires appealing to mainstream American values and sentiments
- A positive vision of American potential is more politically effective than purely critical approaches
- The majority of Americans can be persuaded to support progressive change if it's framed in patriotic terms