Some people of course have more freedom of choice than others. We are all familiar with parochially minded persons, whose views are limited by the immediate society in which they live. But even they, within the limits prescribed for them by their own short-sightedness, can switch their sense of perspective from one view point to another. Indeed to drive the point home, one can consider the narcissist, who is entirely wrapped up in his own body. When a narcissist is cleaning his teeth, his consciousness, his sense of awareness, could be entirely concentrated on the inside of his mouth; when he wiggles his toes, his consciousness could be entirely concentrated on the ends of his feet. Indeed when anyone looks at their feet, they are free to direct their consciousness towards their feet, or not to, as they please. And one only has to go to the ballet to see that part of the training must be directed, either deliberately or by custom, towards making the ballet dancer naturally and spontaneously aware of his feet, and in particular his toes, in a way that is not natural for the rest of us.

In contrast with the parochially minded person, the man who is interested in foreign affairs may have what may be called the international outlook. His…