作为一种政治理论, 国家主义视“国家”为人类最高群体, 坚持国家的统一与秩序优先于民主和自由, 鼓吹个人为国家无条件奉献。这些观点在梁启超的“新民说”中都有体现。它表现在政治伦理方面的“群己之辩”上, 其内容不再是个人与普遍的“人类群”的关系, 而是个人与“政治国家”的公私之辩; 也表现在自由观上, 其自由成为张扬团体(国家)自由、抑制个人自由与个性的国家主义的重要理论依据。梁启超的个案折射了国家主义发生初期的思想环节, 也多少可以说明为什么中国的民族主义缺少国家主义的内容。

As a political theory, nationalism views nation as the highest human group, which is different from cosmopolitanism advocating the "universal harmony in the world" and also from liberal individualism. It insists that the unification of a nation should be superior to democracy and liberty, and therefore, the individual should devote himself to his nation without any additional preconditions. All this is shown in LIANG Qi-chao's "Theory of New People". First, in IIANG's theory the "world group" is turned into the "nation group"; in other words, the relationship between group and individual in political ethics is virtually the one between public and individual. Second, his so - called liberty raises national liberty and meanwhile suppresses individual rights and personality. Through this case we can realize why Chinese nationalism, in the sense of feelings instead of politics, is short of the content of nationalism.