A wake-up call to Britain, and the global economy

THE STATE WE'RE IN, Will Hutton's explosive analysis of British society, was the biggest selling politico-economic work since the Second World War. Now, as the world realigns itself in the wake of September 11, Hutton turns his attention to the global picture, and the ways in which the new world should be ordered.

To understand the global economy, Hutton argues, one must first understand the United States where, over the past 30 years, the forces of conservatism have achieved such supremacy as to reduce liberalism to a term of abuse. The results have been dire: America is a weaker, fragmented society, and its economic strenths are oversold and misunderstood.

But Britain and Europe are different: our attitudes towards property, equality, social solidarity and the public realm are strikingly distinct from Amerrica's current conservative leanings. Europe should not be afraid to stand up against the American version of globalisation, and champion the cause of a reinvigorated international society - taking over the mantle now abandoned by the US.