The Great Delusion with Professor John Mearsheimer

Liberalism and nationalism are two distinct political worldviews.

Liberalism is based on two assumptions: first, that humans voluntarily enter into a social contract and second, that individuals are unable to agree on a common set of principles that binds them together. To prevent perpetual religious or political feuds among factions, liberals came up with a three-part solution: First, each individual has inviolable rights and freedoms. Second, freedom of speech arises from the notion that everybody is entitled to an opinion and must tolerate others’ opinions. And third, liberals task the state with protecting people’s rights and freedoms.

Unlike liberalism, nationalism posits that humans are social animals who start out as part of a group or tribe. The nation-state is the prominent form of collective identity today. Nationalists believe that each nation-state...