Political Memes

and not the positive sense of the word

I cannot agree. Tolstoy started his writing from the breaking the myth about the "good patriotism".

It is generally said that the real, good patriotism consists in desiring for one's own people or State such real benefits as do not infringe the well-being of other nations.

Talking, recently, to an Englishman about the present war, I said to him that the real cause of the war was not avarice, as is generally said, but patriotism, as is evident from the temper of the whole English society. The Englishman did not agree with me, and said that even were the case so, it resulted from the fact that the patriotism at present inspiring Englishmen is a bad patriotism; but that good patriotism, such as he was imbued with, consists in Englishmen, his compatriots, acting well.

"Then do you wish only Englishmen to act well?" I asked.

"I wish all men to do so," said he; indicating clearly by that reply the characteristic of true benefits,—whether moral, scientific, or even material and practical,—which is that they spread out to all men; and therefore to wish such benefits to anyone, not only is not patriotic, but is the reverse of patriotic.

Even in the definition of the "positive patriotism" you were mentioned there is a paradox.

Love of one’s country; devotion to the welfare of one’s compatriots; passion which inspires one to serve one’s country.

If one wishes the welfare of one's country, the welfare of one’s compatriots... Does they wish the welfare of only one's compatriots? If yes, it is a wish of superiority of one's country, the superiority of one's compatriots over other people. If not, it is not patriotism just by the definition.

There is nothing bad to wish the welfare of people living around you, your neighbors. But it is solidarity, not patriotism. Patriotism is tightly coupled to the concept of the national state (because all the modern states are actually a national states). While Tolstoy did not mention the word nationalism, he mentioned the concept of nations and national states. And he criticized the whole concept.

I would again agreed with Leo, that the concept of nations and national states might look modern in the time of French Revolution (and there were no "nations" before no matter what the today's patriots will try to sell you), but even in the time of his writing the concept was already totally outdated, I'm not even saying about today. And I do not understand how are you going to distinguish the concept of national states and patriotism while all the states are national state. Why not just to use the word "solidarity" instead and leave the "patriotism" in the past era of world wars?