re national boundaries
and establish what he called "class-consciousness" among the
wage-earners of the world. That is to say, Marx proposed to
replace national consciousness--viz., the family, race or tribal
consciousness that exists under the name of patriotism--by
class-consciousness--viz., the consciousness of the workers in
all countries that their interests are identical, the idea being
that with the realisation of the unity of the workers wars would
cease. To this theory there are, it seems to me, two fatal
objections: (1) Even if this class-consciousness, or
international solidarity of the workers, could be brought about,
yet you would soon have the old division into capital and labour
growing up again, through the ordinary laws of natural selection
and because of the unequal capacity of different men to make
their way in the world. (2) To my mind, the tribal instinct is
much too strong to give way to a class-consciousness that ignores
national boundaries and national rivalries.

Broadly speaking, the division of the world into nations is a
natural division; and recent research all goes to confirm the
theory that man never has "made good" as an individual. He begins
his existence as a member of a family and of an association of
families--thrown together (_a_) by kinship of blood or likeness
of type; (_b_) by environment; (_c_) by chance or circumstance
(as a rule for the purpose of self-protection). It is these
enlarged families that are what we call to-day nations. I cannot
see that it would be possible to replace the great and, on the
whole, ennobling sentiment of patriotism by a broad international
trades-unionism, which is practically what Marx proposes. And
given the world as it is and animal and human nature what they
are, I don't see how to prevent the interests of nations
clashing. Ethically speaking, the trouble is that existence is a
selfish thing. Stamp out competition--which, when you think of
it, is not very far removed from war on a small scale--and
experience shows that you stamp out the incentive to work and to
progress. It is a melancholy conclusion to come to, but it's
better to look facts in the face than to shirk them.

I had the experience the other day of visiting a portion of the
country where the old batt