Politics & Power Quote by Aldous Huxley

Patriotism, in Huxley's hands, isn’t a warm anthem; it’s a moral laundering machine. The line lands because it flips the expected psychology: nationalism doesn’t just elevate our better angels, it offers respectable cover for the ugliest impulses we’re usually forced to manage in private. “Attractions” is the tell - he’s describing patriotism as a temptation, not a duty. It’s not the nation that’s virtuous, but the feeling of virtue, a narcotic that makes coercion taste like righteousness.

The subtext is about scale and anonymity. “In the person of our nation” turns a collective abstraction into a single avatar that can act without shame. Individuals know “bully and cheat” are sins; states rebrand them as strategy, security, or destiny. Huxley’s jab at “vicariously” is especially cutting: you don’t have to dirty your hands to enjoy the power trip. You can outsource aggression to flags, uniforms, and bureaucratic language, then applaud yourself for loyalty.

Context matters: Huxley is writing from a 20th-century Europe where “virtuous” national narratives repeatedly justified atrocities, from imperial projects to total war. His era watched modern propaganda perfect the trick he’s diagnosing - converting cruelty into civic pride and turning doubt into betrayal. The rhythm of “Bully and cheat” repeated twice mimics a chant, underscoring how easily moral judgment collapses into tribal performance. The real target isn’t love of home; it’s the way collective identity can alibi personal conscience.