ABSTRACT
National consciousness is a specific kind of group consciousness, or group solidarity, which constitutes a bond between the members of a group in regard to the pursuit of certain aims. It is of a very complex structure, embracing many strands and variations, extending from a subconscious, latent state of mind to a clear-cut ideology. National consciousness consists in the combined striving for unity, liberty, individuality and prestige. It is a very popular view that each modern nation has grown out of a common civilization and that the foundation of unitary national states fulfilled the longing of small peoples for unity created by their cultural community. Political thinkers of all nations have worked out the doctrine that the State was a spiritual organism, the result of historical growth and the embodiment of the experience of all ages. The national ideology tends to determine the private character, especially in countries where the individual is totally subordinated to the nation.
