Why is patriotism noble? The reason why it has been popularly extolled is that it is a form of unselfishness. There is hardly another cause in the world today that calls forth such heroic self-sacrifice as the cause of one’s country. Royce included the state among the causes that have organized men in unselfish devotion. He said, “... we have certain human activities that do now already tend to the impersonal organization of the life of those engaged in them. Such activities are found in the work of art, in the pursuit of truth, and in genuine public spirit. Beauty, Knowledge, _and the State_, are three ideal objects that _do actually claim from those who serve them harmony, freedom from selfishness, and a wholly impersonal devotion_.”[190] And unselfishness is one of the fundamental human virtues. It makes the individual himself a better man, and is most certainly needed in the structure of society. Patriotism has the tendency to make men idealists. It is hard enough to get men’s thoughts off of purely material things, and whatever can draw their devotion to an ideal cause is, so far, worth while. Patriotism has made for coöperation among men. The primary purpose of the state is that of coöperation, that is, of making it possible for men successfully to _live together_. That, on the face of it, is a noble purpose. And the state has actually secured a larger range of coöperation than what had been attained before it. It has secured a wider range of peace. It is a larger peace unit. Hence, the state as an integration of men is a gain, and is not, if it is avoidable, to be destroyed. It would not, for instance, be a gain to condemn even Germany to destruction as long as any other mode of treatment is possible. Of course this argument assumes that the state is indispensable as an institution for the integration of mankind. But it really is indispensable. An irreducible unit of society is a community--those living in close contact in some given limited territory. Hence, the territorial principle is an inescapable one in the organization of society. And, if so, communities will, by their conflicts, if by nothing else, be organized into states. That is what has happened. No organization of society on any other plan is likely to find it possible to dispense with the state. And now, if the state is so necessary and valuable in the organization of society, patriotism as a force that preserves the state and its benefits is of value to men.