Complaining, then, is the way BritArm employees bond with each other: discomfort at the boring work and uncomfortable chairs brings fellow-sufferers together.

ECONOMIST: But who's complaining?

In 1990 American diabetics were twice as likely to go blind or need their limbs amputated as their British fellow-sufferers, because Britain's National Health Service, which has a limited budget to cover the entire population, worked harder to make sure that they took their insulin injections and turned up regularly for eye tests.

ECONOMIST: Your money or your life