False Dawn, the Delusions of Global Capitalism.

1198 Words5 Pages
False Dawn, the Delusions of Global Capitalism. John Gray John Gray born, in April 1948 is a prominent British political philosopher and author. Gray contributes regularly to the Guardian, the Statesman and the Times Literary Supplement as well as haven written several books on political theory, such as Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and other Animals (2003). This review will concentrate on False Dawn, delusions of Global Capitalism published in 1999 with an added postscript in 2002. False Dawn outlines the Delusions of Global Capitalism and shows a clear objection to the Global free market. Gray read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Exeter College. He later held posts as a Political theory lecturer at University of Exeter and most recently was the Professor of European thought at London School of economics and political science until his retirement in early 2008. The main argument within False Dawn is that the Global Free Market is not a natural development but that of a political project fuelled by America. Political figures across the world have argued that there is no alternative to the Global Free Market however Gray challenges this opinion using Russia and Asia countries where an American model of the free market simply don’t fit. He also conveys that the state is weakened by free markets and suggests the possible dangers of this. In the first chapter Gray sets the scene with a description of mid centaury England where the prime objective was to free economic life from political control. This change was called the Great Transformation; however Gray takes a negative stance on such transformation. He states immediately that although a free market might bring short term economic benefits, it brings social breakdown. He likens this transformation to that of the American market and also highlights the point that the American family is the
Open Document