Human nature and behaviour evolved in and are thus adapted to life, and the Darwinian struggle for survival and (reproductive) success, in essentially TWO different environments: one's extended family group (with which the individual identified and cooperated, developing strong bonds of affection, loyalty) and the environment external to it (including other, rival, groups of humans) which they feared and, with members of their own group, one way or another sought to exploit (e.g. trading or forming alliances with, or going to war against).

With the advent and development of civilization, these two environments became conflated and confounded, the aristocracy and clergy cooperating in medieval Europe to create the nation state as an instrument for exploiting human society itself (as an artificial replacement of the natural environment) in a perverted and misplaced continuation of the individual's Darwinian struggle for survival and reproductive success, only largely reduced to a struggle for POWER (in the form of money, social status, etc.), which has the potential, at least, if not always the effect of greatly enhancing individual survival and especially male reproductive success.

Both the STATE  and the economy exist to serve us, it is assumed, and there is no denying our complete dependency on them for all the services and products they provide - but as a shepherd serves his flock, i.e. not for the flock's sake, but for his own and/or his employer's sake (notwithstanding that he may feel genuine concern for a lost or injured lamb), for the wool and meat the flock provides. .

This is a profoundly important insight, and likewise its social and political implications, which means that it is likely to evoke considerable anxiety and resistance, and will thus take time to sink in.

If I am right (which I hope academics will check out and confirm), this means that our civilization, as it has developed and is currently structured, represents an "evolutionary cul-de-sac", where the intensity of its self-exploitation (together with its exploitation of the natural environment) is rapidly driving it towards self-destruction (the evidence for which, for those with eyes to see, is becoming ever more apparent).

Saying "Bollocks to Britain!" (or whatever nation you happen to be a citizen of) is a nonsense, of course (intended to catch one's attention, not to give offence), a bit like saying bollocks to a broken or diseased body. Although we might feel like it, we cannot just chuck it away, as implied, because we depend on it, and the economy, so completely.

But what to do about them? Since we cannot simply carry on the way we are. A ruthless Mother Nature (who is already "warming up" for the job) will see to that.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the existing socioeconomic order (of nation states and capitalist, free-market economy) is inherently unsustainable on our finite and vulnerable planet with its burgeoning population, because, as the above human-evolutionary view of our civilization reveals, they are deeply rooted in man's primitive, more animal than human, nature, which they have developed specifically both to serve and exploit - notwithstanding the misleading name, Homo sapiens, given to our species by 18th Century biologists.

Yet we cannot really mend or cure the existing socioeconomic order, because, as explained above, its inherent, primary purpose is not to serve society, but to exploit it. Again, this is not an easy truth to digest and will take a while to sink in. But take your time, and don't panic, because this has to be properly understood and accepted, and you will need cool head (not panicky one) to deal with its profound implications.

The way to proceed is not through reform of the existing order, or its overthrow (revolution), but through creating an Alternative within the existing socioeconomic order, which is distinct and clearly distinguishable from it. As it grows, we will be able to transfer our activities, dependencies and vested interests to it, gradually, bit by bit, as it becomes feasible, each of us when we are ready and at our own pace, without coercion. In its way, it will be a revolution, of course, the most important in human history, but it will proceed peacefully and grassroots-democratically over the course of the coming decades.