In his key writings between 19 'My Country, Right or Left' and especially The Lion and the Unicorn Orwell helped rescue the concept of patriotism from the ash heap of history where it had lain since the First World War. In developing his ideas on patriotism Orwell made a major contribution to English thought. His patriotism was instinctive, not the result of some philosophical analysis and because of that, it enabled him to reach beyond left wing circles to a wider audience. It was his patriotism that inspired Orwell in the grim early days of the Second World War when Great Britain seemed on the brink of invasion and defeat. nationalism, ideology based on the premise that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or group interests. The illiberal form of nationalism is what Orwell warned about in his famous essay on the topic written at a time when decay was giving off a noxious odor. Orwell's critical sense of patriotism sets him apart from the generation of English radicals of the 1930s and 1940s, most of whom were Marxists of various stripes. Most interestingly, Orwell was an internationalist while at the same time a fervent patriot. Genres NonfictionPoliticsEssaysClassicsHistoryPhilosophyModern Classics.

A product of the lower upper middle class (he was precise about such matters) who admired the working classes, he also was a socialist who savaged his fellow leftists for their inconsistencies. Orwell shows his concern for the social state of Europe, and in a broader sense, the entire world, due to an increasing amount of influence of nationalistic sentiment occurring throughout a large number of countries.

It is a commonplace observation to say that George Orwell was something of a paradox.

Orwell nationalism