JSPES, Vol. 36, No. 2 (Summer 2011)
pp. 249-255

BOOK REVIEW ARTICLE A Critique of Gordon Brown’s Beyond the Crash: Overcoming the First Crisis of Globalisation

Dwight D. Murphey

Wichita State University, retired

Gordon Brown was the Prime Minister of Great Britain from 2007 to 2010, coinciding with the initial years of what is now called The Great Recession. He has written a memoir that sets out his economic policies during that crisis and his thinking about what is needed by way of international cooperation to pull the world out of its funk. In this article, we describe the content of his book, Beyond the Crash, and critique what he tells us about both the policies and the aspirations. Our conclusion will be that although Brown shows himself to be a thoroughly decent man, his actions and prescriptions for the future fall far short of what was and is needed.