And we are social and political hypochondriacs. Unwittingly, everyone who is working in the field of complementary/ alternative medicine is helping to put together a new and powerful philosophy that can transform western politics. Beneath all the political sub-languages or lexicons that drive political debate, there is actually one lexicon that rules. We all use it within the political arena, but no one recognises its existence. It is the lexicon of orthodox medicine. Or, to be more precise, it is the lexicon conventionally employed when analyzing sentient organisms. Being political hypochondriacs, we treat our politicians as if they are orthodox doctors. Political agendas focus on our social, political and economic pains: and symptoms. Legislative programs consist primarily of diagnosis and prescription. We are all legislation junkies. And just as when we visit our doctors, too often we place ourselves in the hands of those who are presumed to be experts. We trust that there will not be side effects, and we do not want to take responsibility for bringing about the cure of our problems ourselves. Indeed, we are all too ready to externalize our social and political pains rather than accept ownership of them. Does this sound familiar? But the lexicon of orthodox medicine is mechanistic, and the mechanistic paradigm breaks down when applied to complex organisms such as human beings and the polity. Hence all the side effects that are endemic to both medical and political practices