Q&A Four Question One

• Is patriotism necessary to maintain a nation state?
  
  
  Patriotism is historically tied to the concept of the nation state. When the land in Europe was owned based on inheritance there was clearly no or little concept of national sovereignty  For example the crown of Spain gained a significant part of the Netherlands through inheritance  and the resistance to this was largely religious, and unlike you may see today, Dutch nationalists did not raise a fit. It would seem that patriotism is integral to the survival of the nation-state because patriotism occurs everywhere this sort of concept of governance occurs.
  
  
  Fundamentally I do not think patriotism is necessary.  There are other groups that we function as part of just fine without fanatical devotion. These groups include states (as in Massachusetts), universities, businesses, and non-profit organisations.