Britain, our nation state, is democratic, after a fashion, and I do not wish to belittle the importance of that, but it is time we recognized the extent - and source! - of its inadequacies, which are such that it cannot possibly play a leading role in solving the plethora of exponentially growing problems (political, social, environmental) threatening to engulf the world in the decades ahead.

Like the economy, our nation state (the power structures that comprise it) too is rooted in our animal nature and behaviour - unsurprisingly, in view of human origins (I wonder why experts like Desmond Morris and Richard Dawkins don't seem to recognize the importance of this, although I guess it is because they, like most others, are blinded by their own dependency on the status quo which it undermines).

How and why did the nation state originate? As an instrument to serve "the people" and society? No. That was a secondary function it acquired, which has developed and expanded over the centuries, especially in recent times. It's primary function was - and remains! - the exploitation of society (having effectively replaced the natural environment, which evolution adapted us to exploit).

Our leaders - whether in democracies like our own or in dictatorships - are bound to emphasize their role as being one of SERVICE to their country and its citizens, while in fact they are all (as good as damn it) motivated primarily (although they probably deny it even to themselves) by the desire (rooted in their own animal nature) for POWER.

We are ruled, through the mechanisms and power structures of the nation state and free-market capitalism, by Homo stupidus economicus, who, bound by these mechanisms and power structures, is still dominated by his animal nature and behaviour and can only lead us to disaster. It's like putting an ape in command of an airliner. He may manage for a while, but sooner rather than later he's going to crash it.

We urgently need to create a socio-economic order - rooted in our more enlightened, human nature - that facilitates our behaviour as Homo sapiens (wise and rational man).

It may seem like an impossible challenge at the moment, but once we make a start that will change.