  A third challenge to the collectivist interpretation is that if the state is an individual, it should have a mind of its own. But Steven Barbone points out that references to the mind of the state are typically preceded by qualifying phrases like veluti (“as it were”) and quasi (“as if”), indicating that the state has a mind only in a metaphorical sort of way (Barbone 2001, pp. 104–105). This objection might be mitigated by arguing that individuality is itself a matter of degree and that states are at best “loose” individuals (Della Rocca 1996, Ch. 2), with limited cohesion or regularity of action. This is consistent with the claim, noted above, that integration into a larger union is itself a matter of degree.