One kind of patriotism is, then, based upon the belief that the country is the preserver of law and order. If necessary, the patriot will place himself at the service of the state in order to help it discharge its function as a police power. And he feels it to be necessary also to show his patriotism in his own obedience to the laws. In the Crito,[81] Socrates, who had shown his patriotism upon the battlefield, showed it again by submitting himself to the laws of that country which by its institutions had nourished and protected him. Bosanquet cites this action of Socrates, and himself adds the comment: “That is one thing; true patriotism is the law-abiding spirit.”[82] The state also acts as a protector against aggressions from without, and on this account men cling to it. The patriot _fears_ other nations; he believes that they are actuated by sinister designs. The foe in patriotic songs and poetry is always ‘haughty’ and ‘wicked.’ He believes also that if the opportunity is presented, they will work those sinister designs against his country. Nor is the fear altogether groundless. To say the least, most governments cannot be trusted to look after the interests of their competitors as well as they look after their own, and the way in which the world is at present organized makes it seem necessary for each nation to look out for itself. Even Russell says that “the fear by which the State is strengthened is reasonable under present circumstances.”[83] Then why should not the state protect its own interests and the interests of its citizens? The citizen himself will not admit that the state’s protection should simply be limited to the prevention of the harm that his fellow-citizens might do. He will say: “When we agreed that it was the essential function of the state to protect--to administer the law of equal freedom--to maintain men’s rights--we virtually assigned to it the duty, not only of shielding each citizen from the trespasses of his neighbours, but of defending him, in common with the community at large, against foreign aggression.”[84] The efforts to provide protection has indeed proved to be too big a job for even the state, acting alone, and has led to alliances between states. Such alliance is deemed essential. Diplomatic isolation could not now be tolerated by scarcely any government or population but the most primitive. Perhaps in this very direction lies a way to world internationalism. But the protection is still state protection; the alliances themselves are the results of the activities of states.