The World We're In by Will Hutton

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The World We're In by Will Hutton If you're American, you probably haven't heard of this book. "The

World We're In," by British author Will Hutton, is aimed at Britons

with the goal of convincing them to join the European Union as full

members. As such, it pits positive "European" democracy and capitalism

against the less positive "American" versions. (Specifically, Hutton

is attacking conservative American ideology, but in the end, this

doesn't matter so much; see below). I'll give the book a "+", but for

rather complicated reasons.

This book is a classic example of taking two gray objects, then

painting one black and one white. Lily-pure Europeembodies compassion,

growth without exploitation, and a clear long-term vision for an

enlightened society. Vulgar (conservative) America represents

unbalanced greed, questionable morals, and zeal for short-term profit

at the expense of mature planning. (Can we get any more stereotyped?)

Hutton notes in a few places that America has its merits and the EU

"has yet to achieve its full potential", but why sweat the details of

these two gray objects? One is clearly black, and the other white.

Britain is heading down the wrong path, and Hutton aims to sound the

alarm so that it can get back on track.

If you can get past the rhetoric and unabashed European haughtiness,

Hutton does make some interesting and worthwhile points. His analysis

of American capitalism is a different view than you will get in the

Wall Street Journal or even the New York Times. His biting criticism

of America's recent tendency toward unilateralism and...

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...euro). He argues convincingly that the left has a

vested interest in encouraging the emergence of a democratic, federal

European Union. The right and capital have all the Europe they need.

Labour and civil society need much "more Europe" to achieve their

goals. This is why the left should be leading the demand for a

democratic, federal constitution for the EU. This should include the

right of citizens to elect future President of the Commission, an end

to secretive, inter-governmental law making by EU governments in

favour of an open, Parliament style legislature in Brussels, giving

the already agreed Charter of Fundamental Rights legal force and many

other reforms. Who knows, the next step could be the development of a

serious trans-national European left with a strategy and programme for

democratic global governance.

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