BOUNDARY MAKING AND EQUAL CONCERN KOK-CHOR TAN Abstract: Liberal nationalism is a boundary-making project, and a feature of this boundary-making enterprise is the belief that the compatriots have a certain priority over strangers. For this reason it is often thought that liberal nationalism cannot be compatible with the demands of global egalitarianism. In this essay, I examine the sense in which liberal nationalism privileges compatriots, and I argue that, properly understood, the idea of partiality for compatriots in the context of liberal nationalism is not at odds with global equal concern for all persons. In particular, I argue that the three central goals and aspirations of liberal nationalismFpromoting individual autonomy and cultural identity, the realiza- tion of deliberative democracy, and the aspiration for social justice within the stateFdo not entail or require a form of compatriot partiality that is inconsistent with the demands of global egalitarian justice. Keywords: global justice, global equality, liberalism, liberal nationalism, nation building, boundary making, cultural identity, equal concern, partial concern, priority for compatriots. The Problem The fact of state boundaries is often said to be an ‘‘embarrassment’’ for liberals. On the one hand, on one understanding of liberal egalitarian justice the idea of equal opportunity applies globally to all individuals regardless of nationality or citizenship. On the other, taking political boundaries seriously seems to limit the ideal of equal opportunity to members within a state. While few commentators hold that foreigners count for nothing and that citizens of a society have no moral obliga- tions whatsoever to foreigners, it is sometimes thought that the idea of equal opportunityFthat individuals are entitled to the same back- ground social and economic conditions under which to further their goals in lifeFis an ideal that applies among citizens but not globally. One reason for this is the belief that individuals are entitled (if not required) to show greater concern for their compatriots, and the basic institutions of their society could (or should) be designed to reflect this special patriotic concern; this patriotic concern seems to deny the ideal r Metaphilosophy LLC and Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK, and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA METAPHILOSOPHY Vol. 36, Nos. 1/2, January 2005 0026-1068 r Metaphilosophy LLC and Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005