The National Being
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This book offers a profound, poetic blueprint for building a nation on spiritual and cooperative foundations, challenging readers to rethink the relationship between economics, identity, and collective purpose.
Edition details
Book Summary
George William Russell's 'The National Being' argues that Ireland's true strength lies in its collective spiritual and intellectual character, not in political structures. He advocates for a cooperative commonwealth blending aristocratic leadership with democratic economics, urging poets, thinkers, and farmers to build a civilization rooted in beauty, justice, and brotherhood.
Russell opens by dedicating the work to Sir Horace Plunkett, praising his fusion of poetry and economics. He introduces the 'National Being' as an oversoul that must guide Irish polity, rejecting theocratic and aristocratic rule in favor of addressing economic disenfranchisement. The book traces the potential transformation of the typical farmer, Patrick Maloney, through cooperative organization, contrasting ancient communal rural life with modern decay caused by individualism and emigration. Russell proposes a cooperative commonwealth uniting rural and urban workers, critiquing state-dominated reform and advocating for voluntary cooperative action. He envisions civil conscription for national service and argues against race hatred, asserting that moral and economic forces should define Ireland's identity. The author calls on churches, poets, and artists to inspire national ideals, concluding that only through cooperative solidarity can Ireland achieve organic unity and true peace.
Reading guide
Go deeper in The National Being
Character guides, themes, chapter companions — plus Character Web, narrative arc, and theme heatmap teasers that unlock fully beside the text in BetterReads.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
Unknown Narrator
This narrator speaks as a public thinker rather than a private self, moving through Irish political life to diagnose why leaders were trusted and discussion ceased. His central tension is between two loves of country: the base love that brawls in its cups and the high love that conspires with imaginative reason. He matters because his argument — that national ideals must be deliberately architected, not married in haste — frames every claim the book goes on to make.
Patrick Maloney
Patrick begins as a legend-bound figure, thinking of Ireland as a little dark Rose and a mystic maiden rather than a multitudinous being. As he meets the cooperative movement, his politics take on gravity and his individualism — centered fanatically on family and kith — is pulled outward toward a national circumference. He matters because the book's social vision depends on whether a man like Patrick can be connected, link by link, from home to nation.
Sir Horace Plunkett
A historical figure referenced as a proponent of Irish agricultural cooperation.
Whitman
The poet Walt Whitman, invoked as a symbol of democratic and national spirit.
Kathleen ni Houlihan
A personification of Ireland, used as a poetic and national symbol in the text.
Christ
Referenced as a religious figure, possibly in a metaphorical or national context.
The National Being and Identity
The book explores the concept of a 'National Being' as a collective soul or oversoul of a race, arguing that Ireland must discover and cultivate its own unique spiritual and cultural identity to build a worthy civilization.
Aristocracy of Character and Intellect
The author advocates for leadership by an 'aristocracy of character, intellect, and will' rather than by birth or wealth, emphasizing that true leaders should embody wisdom, imagination, and moral integrity to guide the nation.
Cooperative Economics and Rural Community
A central theme is the promotion of cooperative economic organization, especially in agriculture, as a means to foster solidarity, economic democracy, and a vibrant rural life, countering individualism and urban decay.
Spiritual vs. Material Forces in Civilization
The book contrasts spiritual ideals (beauty, justice, brotherhood) with material forces (militarism, industrial exploitation), arguing that a nation's greatness depends on prioritizing spiritual and intellectual principles over brute power or wealth.