Ian explains: “I voted Leave in 2016, although it was a close decision, largely because of concerns about EU institutions, sovereignty and the importance I attached to national political institutions. I would now vote differently, but that change was not primarily a retrospective judgement about whether Brexit succeeded or failed.
“It came directly from the research that became this book. Wrestling seriously with patriotism, political obligation, universal moral duties and the institutions through which we pursue human flourishing changed the way I understood the relationship between national sovereignty and our wider interdependence.
“Brexit also exposed a deeper question about belonging. People who cared deeply about the same country seemed increasingly unable to understand one another, while patriotism itself was often presented either as an unquestionable virtue or as something inherently suspect. My research therefore centred on a deceptively simple question: can we justify giving particular moral importance to our own country when every human being possesses equal moral worth?,” said Ian.
“Loving What Is Ours argues that we can. Indeed, I argue that a properly understood patriotism can involve genuine moral obligations. This is a patriotism disciplined by something larger than itself; namely, human dignity, the common good and responsibilities that do not stop at national borders.
“The book is deliberately written in two parts. The first develops the philosophical argument for a morally responsible patriotism and is intended to stand on its own, without requiring any religious commitment.
“The second brings that argument into conversation with Christianity and, particularly, the Catholic tradition. I hope, therefore, that the book speaks not only to Catholics or Christians, but to readers of other faiths and none who are interested in how we negotiate the claims of country, community and our common humanity.
“For me, that conversation seems especially pertinent today. Immigration, populism, national identity and the so-called culture wars are generating increasingly sharp divisions, while forms of Christian nationalism risk confusing the Gospel with particular political or national identities.
“I do not think the answer is to surrender patriotism to its loudest or most divisive expressions. We need a richer account of what it means to love our country well: with loyalty and critical judgement, concern for the common good, care for the social and natural world we inherit, respect for every person’s dignity, and recognition of our obligations to the wider human family,” says Ian.
“That is ultimately the question at the heart of Loving What Is Ours: not simply whether we should love what is ours, but what such love morally requires of us.
You can find the book on Amazon.
Pictured above is author Ian Watson and his new book.
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Saturday 6 February 2027 | Newmarket and Online
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