“In fear of death one commits suicide,” an unenthusiastic wag is supposed to have said of the Saltsjöbaden agreement between workers and employers organisations in Sweden in 1938. Though greeted with suspicion by many on the left at the time, Saltsjöbaden proved to be a defining moment on the path to the Scandinavian welfare state. At times of national and international crisis – and the 1930s were certainly that – cooperation and compromise are rarely a bad idea.

By withholding US funds for the WHO this week, Donald Trump, in fear not of death but of what he does not understand, has initiated an act of collective suicide the like of which is mindboggling to comprehend…

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