The philosophy of al-Madrahiyyah, and the spiritual incentive it has provided, opened up new horizons for thought and brought about a transformation “in the course of life and its manifestations, in its immediate and ultimate purposes.”[1] It launched a cultural and cognitive current that resonated through literature, poetry, music, and all branches of art, expressing the depths of the Syrian psyche that had been suppressed and restrained, as well as the superiority of its thinking and noble objectives. This philosophy awakened the conscience of thousands of youths and students, and stirred the factors of life and evolution in various segments of the population, among the learned, literary figures, and artists. “Dead sciences turned into living sciences, bones were clothed with flesh, and their veins pulsed with the warm blood of life...”[2]

The philosophy of al-Madrahiyyah encompasses principled virtues where we find the alphabet of the new life and its sublime values... Can life truly transcend without these noble principles? Sa’adeh pondered in his daily journal before founding the party: “What is the value of life without principles? And what is life without a desired ideal?”[3] After founding the party, while explaining the new ethical mindset, he stated: “Human life without principles to cling to, to build his character and the meaning of his existence upon, is void...”[4] Hence, the social nationalist movement strives to implant these teachings and noble values in the spirits, nurturing a profound love for the land and the community. Without loyalty to the community, without considering its welfare and interests, and without social cooperation, societal life cannot progress, and the entire society cannot luxuriate in an elevated and beautiful life.

Social cooperation, Sa’adeh states, “is the fundamental method for preserving the life of the community, its identity, and preparing it to advance in the stages of construction and civilization.”[5] The social-nationalist movement, which is founded on a fundamental philosophical idea, as Sa’adeh says, “is the movement that derives its existence from the land and the people in all their diversity and sects – it is the movement that advances with love for the land and the people – for the entire people in all its categories...”[6]