We consider a description of the deuteron based on meson exchange potentials.
A key feature is the inclusion of the I=S=0 two-pion intermediate state
('sigma(600)') as a significant component of the inter-nucleon potential
energy. In this approach, deuteron binding is seen to be predominantly a
consequence of sigma(600) and omega(783) exchange, with a secondary tole played
by rho(770). We explore sensitivity of two-nucleon binding to changes in the
potential and thereby obtain an anthropic constraint -- that the deuteron
unbinds for a modest decrease (about 6%) in the attractive sigma(600)
potential.Comment: References added; Conclusion slightly expande
