Will Hutton

A hard-hitting work, pulls no punches, states forthrightly what the writer thinks about things. His subject is the choices America has made in its economic and social organization and objectives, contrasting it with those that can be characterized as Europe's, and the best choice for the United Kingdom, that straddles both parts of the world as an essentially 'Anglo-Saxon' entity geographically on the edge of Europe. Many of us do have an inkling that all is not optimal with yhe American way show more of things - it may seem too loud, too self-justifying, too individual-oriented, too violent (guns everywhere), too brash, too domineering, and so forth; but it is also seen as dynamic and powerful. Europe, according to the author, has developed a distinctively different set of priorities, more oriented to social justice, distribution of welfare, a longer-term view of corporations, a 'stakeholder' approach versus a narrowly focused 'shareholder' approach to business policy, and so on. Much of the world is more akin to the European mode of thinking, the side that the author squarely advocates for Britain. Although a bit dated (2002, before the Wall Street crash of 2008), this discussion still retains relevance, because of the current agonising by Britain of its relationship with the European Union in the aftermath of Brexit, the roller-coaster of the US relationship with the Chinese behemoth and the renewed and heated up 'Cold War' with Russia, the problem of faiths and the Islamic forces, and so on. show less

By 1997, Britain was tired of a Tory party that had been in power for 18 years and who many felt had contributed to the decline of the nation. Hutton identified clearly the failings of the British political and economic establishment and suggested, both in this book and its hurried sequel, "The State to come", how things could be put right.

It is a book that captured the zeitgeist of the nation most accurately. It encouraged many to vote for New Labour, in the misguided belief that New Labour show more had actually read it. After all, Hutton was a one-time stockbroker, and a respected economist and commentator. Instead, things turned out differently. show less

In some ways this is quite a depressing book, given all the social and political problems that we have in the UK. Hutton details the way that Laissez-faire capitalism and banking in particular has failed in the UK, and how these have affected the complete social fabric of the country. The subjects covers are as wide ranging as the erosion of parliament, the concentration of power in No. 10, education and the power of the press barons.

The second half of the book are the proposals that he show more would like to see implemented urgently to address the problems that we have. A lot of them are very good, some less so. Al address the power of the vested interests that hold this country back from being great again. I doubt that Cameron and Osborne have read this book; perhaps they should. show less

This is an analysis of the social, political and economic arrangements in Britain which Hutton asserts have become out-of-date. It includes ideas on how he thinks the state can be updated. Hutton argues that the weaknesses of the economy cannot be divorced from the problems in the rest of society.
He makes a critique of Britain's institutions and argues that we have an 18th-century state dealing with 20th-century issues. He offers explanations for the attitudes which he thinks prevent Britain show more from moving forward into the 21st century as a truly modern country.

Ian McEwan: Will Hutton gives a chilling account of the modern Tory Party's penetration of our national institutions. show less