But the relations of patriotism to war and internationalism are now its most crucial problems. It is often argued that while patriotism has done and does what is claimed for it, it has in large measure outlived its usefulness, and is a prolific source of the world’s greatest troubles at the present time in that it makes for jealousy, conflict, and war. Patriotism is said to be divisive, when thought of in world terms. Hasn’t it, therefore, outlived its usefulness, and isn’t it time to entrust the keeping of the coöperation of men to a still larger institution that shall be worldwide, and thus avoid the conflicts of the present? The feeling that prompts this argument is embodied in the following words: “... a striking factor in today’s thinking is the perception of the immoral consequences of patriotism. We see that while devotion to country entails the final sacrifice of self, it entails also the most inhumane sacrifice of others. We have not yet been able to think the matter out. Distraught, we reverence the men who are dying for their separate flags and strain our eyes beyond the battlefields for the oriflamme of internationalism.”[191] It is evident that when countries go to war, all cannot be right, and that fact puts the patriots of some country in a false position. One cannot take simply the attitude of uncritical patriotism. The good man and the good patriot are not necessarily one and the same. If the contrary were true, then neither we nor the Germans would have any moral grounds upon which to be indignant at one another. Not all causes become just simply for the reason that one’s country chooses to defend them. Aristotle called attention to the fact of varying governments in the world, and drew the following conclusion: “If, then, there are many forms of government, it is evident that the virtue of the good citizen cannot be the one perfect virtue. But we say that a good man is he who has perfect virtue. Hence, it is evident that the good citizen need not of necessity possess the virtue which makes a good man.”[192] A larger view than that of uncritical patriotism is therefore needed, and the critic says that such is just what the patriot cannot be expected to attain. The critic makes the charge that the coöperation that has been gained in patriotism is an obstruction in the way of attaining a larger coöperation. Patriotism, in other words, is not a proper force for saving the world. For one thing, it contents a man with his own country; the patriot doesn’t strive for any higher organization of men, and so the spirit of progress is deadened. Moreover, so the critic sometimes says, patriotism is simply a coöperation for conflict. It is setting men at each other’s throats.