". . many Americans are conditioned from birth to regard government intervention in anything as the beginning of a slippery slope into Nazism or socialism."

The point, which Alexander obviously misses, is that there is an element of truth in this. Besides which, Nazism stood for "national SOCIALISM", which tragically, because of the horrors associated with it, has prevented us from giving this hugely important concept the attention and study it deserves.

Man is as much a tribal animal as he is a social animal, because these were the conditions under which human nature and behaviour patterns evolved, long before the advent of civilisation. However, the individual's emotional and material dependency, which once fell to his tribe, now falls to the STATE, which, very inadequately, has taken its place and expropriated our natural feelings of loyalty and commitment (including altruism) towards it.

The problem with the state (as a human-evolutionary, i.e. Darwinian, understanding of its origins and development shows) is that its inherent primary purpose is to facilitate society's self-exploitation, to the advantage of its dominant and privileged elites (thus not just Americans' underlying mistrust of it), which in past times were restricted to an aristocracy and clergy, but now includes anyone with capital, many professions, and generally a much wider spectrum of society, to which, in theory, at least, thanks to "social mobility" anyone can gain access to.

Notwithstanding this, the STATE still expects us to believe (feel and behave as though) it were the natural and legitimate heir to tribe, which we are loyal and committed to, and on the basis of which it wants to built a system of support and welfare, as is fitting - for a TRIBE, i.e. a genuine PEOPLE or NATION. Only the state does not in truth represent any of these. It just wants - in fact, demands - that we all belief that it does.

These consideration, I suggest, lie at the heart of this whole issue, and are what we need to recognise and develop an understanding of, before be can really come to grips with the vital issues of social welfare and universal health care.

I say "we", which is taken to mean, what? My fellow human beings? My fellow British citizens? What I specifically (although not exclusively) mean is my TRIBE, my PEOPLE, and my NATION, which has been expropriated, in my case, by the British STATE.