Now, if we define patriotism as “a type of loyalty to a particular nation which only those possessing that particular nationality can exhibit” (MacIntyre, 'Is Patriotism a Virtue?', 1984, p.4), the concept of belonging is fundamental. There is no consideration for the characteristics of the country, that is, for its principles and values. In this sense it is contrary to Ernest Belfort Bax's conception: one should not support a country because it represents an ideal in which one believes, but rather because it is one's country. You cannot swear allegiance to a country for what it represents, because otherwise anyone can do it without being a citizen of that country, it is no longer patriotism. For example, Alasdair MacIntyre mentions loyalty to Germany because it represents Culture, to France because it represents Civilization, and to the United States because it represents the opposition against “communist evil.” Since anyone can believe in the ideal of Culture, Civilization or fight communism, anyone can be a patriot towards Germany, France or the United States. But this is no longer patriotism in itself, because patriotism implies belonging to a country. The feeling of love for a country and its people comes only from the fact that one is from this country; it is justified by the particular relationship with the country and the population (MacIntyre, 1984). It is useful to note that MacIntyre's definition also includes some circumstances: the world must be in a moderate state of scarcity and there must be clashes between the ways of life of different countries. In his definition, belonging to a country therefore implies depending on it and making a choice about which country to support, therefore necessary. Patriotism is characterized by personal and partisan love; this is...half of the sheet...ism of Ernest Belfort Bax', History of European Ideas, 30 (2004), nr. 4, 463–484. MacIntyre, Alasdair, 'Is Patriotism a Virtue?', E. H. Lindley Lecture, (University of Kansas, 1984). Nathanson, Stephen, 'In Defense of “Moderate Patriotism”', Ethics, 99 (1989) , n. 3, 535–552.—, “Is Patriotism Like Racism?”, APA Newsletter on Philosophy and the Black Experience, 91 (1992), nr. 2, 9–12. Primoratz, Igor, “Patriotism: Morally Permissible, Required, or Valuable?”, Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict: Philosophical Perspectives, ed. by N. Miscevic, (Chicago and LaSalle, Illinois: Open Court Publishing Co., 2000), 101–113.—, 'Introduction' to Patriotism, ed. by I. Primoratz (New York: Humanity Books, 2002), 9–23.—, 'Patriotism: A deflationary View', The Philosophical Forum, 33 (2002), 443–458.—, 'Patriotism', The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. by E.Zalta, (2013).