history

In the study referred to below, it is interesting to note how the Portuguese people rated the factors that make them proud of being Portuguese. The percentage of answers rating those factors as "Important" or "Very important" are the following:

History 91.8%
Sports 86.5%
Literature and Arts 84.8%
Science and Technology 52.9%
Armed Forces 52.5%
Influence in the World 39.4%
Democracy 38.7%
Fair treatment of citizens 35.2%
Economy 21.5%
Social Security 18.9%

I would like two make a couple of comments on these results.

The first is that the topics which are most discussed in the media, blogosphere included, such as politics, are the least valued by the population. By contrast, history, which includes the study and discussion of our traditions, seldom appears in the media (actually, it seldom appears now in educational curricula) and yet it is the most valued by the population as a source of their pride in being Portuguese.

Second, it is clear that the Portuguese people are not very proud of their political and economic systems which, at present, are the systems of democracy and the free market. This does not surprise me at all. As I argued earlier, the natural systems of political and economic organization of a predominantly Catholic society like Portugal are aristocracy and corporativism.