Is patriotism a virtue? The Germans thought it was a virtue before and during WWII. So did every country that participated in the war. When King David sent multitudes of his subjects to die fighting the Philistines, certainly patriotism was seen as a virtue. In herding behavior patriotism is defined as a virtue and life is lived on the basis that it is.
What is patriotism, though, when one removes the euphemistic definition we give the term? In its worse form, patriotism is a method of enslaving people. Such was the case when destitute poor people in the South during the Civil War, died defending ideas that benefited them in no way.

Patriotism can be used to buy the labor of others for far less than it would be worth in a market setting. In terms of Common Sense Economics, patriotism turns out to be a way to steal the labor of those with little or no political power.

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