The Fate of Mankind
Chapter 45
National selfishness and unselfishness
All the people of the earth are thus on the way to achieving a common fatherland.
And when the world kingdom has progressed so far as to constitute one common fatherland for all individuals, and all nations have become provinces in this same kingdom, internationalism or common interest will have conquered nationalism.
This in turn really means that unselfishness will have conquered selfishness.
Internationalism is the unselfishness of a nation, and nationalism is the selfishness or egoism of a nation.
The world kingdom will from the outset, as it spans the whole earth, have the advantage over ordinary states or nations that it cannot have exterior enemies.
It cannot therefore have dangerous or hostile border areas on which it has to build strong forts, produce poisonous gases or nuclear weapons, build tanks or military equipment; equally it cannot have any difficulties with passports, customs or exchange of currencies.
Everyone is an inhabitant of the same kingdom; everyone is under the same government.