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The State We're in: Why Britain is in Crisis and How to Overcome it
 
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The State We're in: Why Britain is in Crisis and How to Overcome it (Hardcover)

by Will Hutton (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Paperback (New edition) £8.99 £6.99 276 used & new from £0.01

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd; 16th Impression edition (19 Jan 1995)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0224036882
  • ISBN-13: 978-0224036887
  • Product Dimensions: 24.4 x 16 x 3.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 381,563 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #99 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > Countries & Regions > UK > Constitution & Government

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Product Description

Product Description
This is an analysis of the social, political and economic arrangements in Britain which Hutton asserts have become out-of-date.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 from moving forward into the 21st century as a truly modern country.

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
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2 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
3.1 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Prescient Piece of Work, 10 Nov 2008
By B. Murphy (Kent, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Given the dramatic collapse of Britain's banking industry in Autumn 2008, I once again picked up Mr Hutton's work to re-appraise myself of its arguments and to see if its solutions really would have helped us avoid the present crisis.

I was amazed at how well Hutton's critique predicted the shambles caused by removing the regulatory breaks from the once-mighty financial sector. The book picks apart the so-called Thatcherite economic reforms laying bear the true originator of Britain's contemporary economic woes. The argument against laissez-faire capitalism is sharpened by recent events. And surely now there cannot be a voter left who still believes that Thatcher was anything but a very poor, and very damaging Prime Minister.

Hutton lays bear the yawning weaknesses in the British economy forged by both Parties when in government, but particularly by the peculiar COnservative brand post 1979.

Unlike many polemics, this work does not stop at pointing out blame. It provides detailed and workable solutions to even this credit crunch. Europe is key, as well as reclaiming the economy as a tool to benefit ordinary people, rather than allowing it to enrich the already rich and run amok as it has these last 30 years.

A book written in the nineties that is as contemporary today as it was then. A must-read for the economic and political historian.
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38 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent critique of typical New Right arguments, 13 Nov 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The State We're in: Why Britain is in Crisis and How to Overcome it (Paperback)
Although this book is slightly out of date after the abolition of hereditary peers and devolution for Scotland and Wales, it is still worth reading for it's excellent and comprehensive critique of New Right Policy. The book starts with how the Conservatives fused Neo liberal thought with popular policies, creating an electoral machine which won four general elections in a row. It talks about how the Conservatives managed to manipulate the uncodified British constitution to great effect during the 1980's and 1990's.

It simultaneously charts the crisis among the British Left, and the European Left in general, and how the New Labour experiment attempted to deal with this. The main thrust of the book is that the last twenty odd years have been an experiment in free market economics which have had serious effects on social cohesion, and given us the lowest paid workforce, yet the highest paid executives in Europe.

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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting despite being astonishingly biased, 22 Sep 2007
By B. Leith (Bristol, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
It is clear that Hutton has a strong socialist/leftward bias and he fails to be persuasive by not sufficiently supporting his views. This does not totally discredit the book though, and taken in context, there are some interesting points.

At the time this was written, the condition of the economy would have justified such criticism of the government of the previous decade. It is only with hindsight that we can see the long-term benefit of Thatcher's reforms. He does pick up on genuine weaknesses in the financial system of the UK; for example the failure to promote investment because of a priority for dividends - our failure to improve UK productivity since this was written is inexcusable.

His writing is sometimes quite rambling and, certainly towards the end, very preaching. Despite this, and its age, it is still readable and not at all technical, for those with limited economic knowledge.

I would only recommend reading this if you have an interest in the condition of, and events in, the UK economy towards the end of the last century. It is too old and opinionated to be of popular interest now.






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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Why the left is right and the right is wrong?
I thought this book, although dated, is still very relevent today. With the seemingly non stop takeovers of British companies by mostly companies based in the so-called 'over... Read more
Published on 8 Mar 2006 by macaskill_alex

1.0 out of 5 stars Astonishingly Bad
'The State We're In' is one of the worst books I have ever read. First of all the book is very badly structured. Read more
Published on 3 Jul 2005 by Alan Michael Forrester

1.0 out of 5 stars Rubbish. Save your money
Rambling, inconsistent and factually inaccurate to an astonishing degree. The most over-rated book in ages (and probably the most thrown across rooms in irritation). Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2004 by Dajx

1.0 out of 5 stars Rubbish
Hutton's book is nothing more than propaganda virtually bereft of economic concepts.

He starts the book by attempting to trash the Tory government voted in in 1979 and also the... Read more

Published on 22 Jun 2004 by Sam Wright

5.0 out of 5 stars The guy is a genius
I used the book, amongst others, as part of my final year dissertation. I found it to be comparable, if not better than the works of JM Keynes. Read more
Published on 31 Jan 2002

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