The Sociology of National Character

Abstract

When pluralities interact in national collectivities they develop common suppositions, pursue conjoint objectives, and measure performance against similar ideas: they form, in short, national characters. Interest in national character de veloped among Enlightenment thinkers prior to the great na tional revolutions. Montesquieu even speculated about the role of various physical and social factors in their formation. Following the national revolutions, national character acquired metaphysical status. It was used to promote nationalism in areas still largely outside the emerging complex and to consoli date and buttress the national communities already formed. Conceived as the inherent spirit or genius of a people, national character was often speculated to be biological in origin and conceived as the primary agency of historical change as in Hegel's theory of social-historical development. Despite soci ology's origin as a collectivistic social philosophy, its founders were too concerned with progress and the regeneration of hu manity to pay much attention to national character. Later schools, particularly conflict theory and social behaviorism, proved more receptive to the idea. Since national character refers to properties that pluralities display in national com munities, the sociology of national character has potential sig nificance for anyone dealing with the conflict situations of our age: national uprisings, the formation of international blocs, and cold and hot wars in which nation-states are the ultimate antagonists.