Widening his perspective from country (examined in previous volume, "The State We're In") to world, Will Hutton calls for Britain and Europe to offer alternatives to the American Way. Under President Bush America has been forthright in it's isolationism - until the attack on the World Trade Center - but whatever happens next, it is undoubtedly true that Bush will pursue a policy of America first. Hutton argues for a countervailing balance - economically and socially - to the American model. Only, he argues, by making Europe a strong bloc - and that means adopting the euro - will we have the levarage to influence the USA as we would wish, in an attempt to make Europe a safer, more prosperous place.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
'Written with typical passion and command of a battery of facts, Will Hutton's The World We're In is a fierce attack on the politics of Euroscepticism and US economic conservatism. Hutton has already established his credentials as one of the leading liberal economic thinkers on the British State with his bestselling The State We're In. In The World We're In he widens his focus to discuss the global economy and the fraught relations between the US and Europe in the aftermath of September 11. Hutton argues that "if the rest of the world is not careful, our future will be to accept globalisation almost entirely on American conservative terms." He believes that the great tradition of liberalism in the US is in retreat, that "America is the most unequal society in the industrialised West", and that claims regarding its economic supremacy and efficiency have been hugely exaggerated. For Hutton, the future lies with the European Union's more inclusive and liberal approach towards politics and economics. The book skilfully charts its way through the different historical, economic and philosophical approaches to land, law and profit that have defined the European and American traditions, concluding that Europe offers a better "scope within globalisation for different cultures and approaches to capitalism to flourish." For Hutton, this involves a philosophical belief in the existence of a civic society and a flourishing society, a "decentralised State, consensual labour relations" and a stakeholder ethos that America has always lacked. He admits that this "is a book for the idea of Europe", that also envisages the United Kingdom at the heart of Europe, not Washington. Marshalling an impressive array of economic data alongside an impassioned belief in radical democracy, The World We're In is an important addition to the urgent discussions regarding the world we want.' - Jerry Brotton "a timely and forward-looking book...Hutton's powerful and flawlessly argued assertion is that to opt for dependence upon America is madness' - Independent on Sunday
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Will Hutton was Editor of the Observer for 3 years and now runs the Industrial Society.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An uncomfortable read for Democrats AND Republicans,
This review is from: World We're in (Hardcover)
Hutton challenges - with persuasive evidence - the idea that the US is a uniquely productive economy with unparalleled levels of social mobility. Rather, he argues that Americans can learn much from the European model of capitalism, and warns of serious consequences if we fail. This book should be required reading for anyone who claims to be serious about understanding our present economic and political crises.
4 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Social democratic wishful thinking,
By
This review is from: World We're in (Paperback)
By far the best part of this book is Hutton's expose of US capitalism's failure to provide for the American people. As he acknowledges, its `model does not itself work.' He points to US workers' reduced wages, long hours (averaging 50 a week), fewer holidays, and record levels of debt, to the USA's minimal welfare, regulation and taxes, an all-too flexible labour market, worse productivity than Europe's, falling investment and de-industrialisation.Yet the US state tries to impose this model worldwide through the IMF, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation, demanding balanced budgets, tight money, de-regulation, privatisation, anti-union laws and mergers. There is no need for privatisation: between 1980 and 1988, NHS hospitals increased in-patient treatment by 16%, emergency treatment by 19% and day surgery by 73%, without significant cost increases. And privatisation doesn't work: the Tube PPP promises only 12 new trains, in six years' time. The West Coast line upgrade will cost £16 million a mile, three times more than BR's upgrades; and the first 14 PFI hospitals will cost £1.3 billion, twice the original estimates. Mergers don't work either: a survey of 700 mergers showed that only 119 added value. The worst part is his effort to promote the EU. Yet he realistically describes its workings: EU summits have acted `in effect to Americanise Europe'. "The EU has allowed itself to define its task as `liberalising' and deregulation' ... in accordance with the consensus view that there is little to be done in Europe except build a single market." The EU is `developing as an engine of the conservative right' and is `trying to import the American model'. The European Central Bank has `a highly conservative monetary regime'; its `entrenchment of monetarism' is `grievously damaging the management of the European economy'. Then wishful thinking takes over. He claims that the EU's high levels of long-term unemployment are just the short-term results of various shocks, not due to the ECB policy of deflation. All the EU's failings would magically vanish if only it would change and behave as Mr Hutton would like!
3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Persuasive stuff,
This review is from: World We're in (Paperback)
It's pretty hard to argue with this book. Occasionally, his tone is a little jingoistic and sometimes the book lacks cohesion. But the case he makes is compelling. It's extremely easy to read - as you would expect from a journalist of his calibre. A pleasure to read a book that challenges the conservative dogma that dominates the Anglo-Saxon World.
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