23 JUNE 2007, Page 19

Self-interest, not patriotism

Sir: Irwin Stelzer (Go West, young man', 9 June) writes as if patriotism were an unmixed blessing. It is if it means putting country before self. But when it comes to putting one's own country before all or most other countries, there is another name for it.

He also describes a visit he made to a law firm which helped get the Colorado river diverted to supply water to Phoenix, Arizona. He clearly thinks this a cause for celebration. He must surely know that, as a result of this and other similar diversions, the Colorado now no longer reaches the sea, and the entire south-west, including California, is facing a fairly imminent water crisis.

Antony Black Dundee