By Alison Flint
Courtesy of The Dartmouth
The former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Gordon Brown, came to Dartmouth College on Tuesday afternoon to give a speech on global economics. Cook Auditorium was packed; Dartmouth’s weak attempt to deter spectators did not stop dozens of students from sitting on the floor and in the auditorium’s doorways. I was still nervously counting the fire exits when our own Carol Folt introduced the Right Honourable “Mr. Brown.” I had seen Brown earlier that day. He had been walking with President Jim Kim and they both seemed to be having a good time. They were laughing, although the two men trailing them weren’t (bodyguards?). At the lecture, Brown seemed to be just as jovial as before, kicking out a few jokes before commencing with anything of the economical sort.
The substance of the lecture was a reminder of what the world economy looks like after the financial crisis of 2008 and vague recommendations of what we should be looking towards for the future. Brown described the world of today as a strange limbo where 60% of manufacturing is in the East and 60% of consumption is in the West, and he gave an estimate of ten years before the numbers are geographically balanced. I think we all know this, and I would even guess that the transfer of consumerism would occur a bit earlier. His main point on this subject was that there will be vague opportunities as this transition is made and that an Asian middle class is growing that businesses can take advantage of. Not only would clever businesses prosper but the economy would recover faster. The only thing in the way of a full recovery from 2008 is a lack of confidence to invest in the East, which we should face, according to Brown, by forming “trade agreements.” What kind of agreements, Brown did not go into great detail, but he also pushed for agreements on environmental progress.
Brown bounced from story to story, loosely connecting them with subject matter, but the apparent theme of the afternoon was interdependency. The wave of new leadership across Europe comes from the people’s impatience with the slow economy, but the slow economy comes from people who think the issue can be solved nationally. Gordon Brown is explaining this to the room, and it’s true, but unoriginal. I wanted to know what he thought was needed to get every nation to approve of a plan. As a self-admitted slippery politician, he would probably say cooperation. Oh, Gordon Brown, you know what I meant.
I’m sorry, Right Honourable Dr. James Gordon Brown, but I would’ve liked the details. I suppose it’s obligatory for an hour lecture to leave me unsatisfied, but I felt that Brown only skimmed the top of what could have been brought up. As a politician he probably saves his controversial talk for cameras. Or should I say Cameron? Sorry, bad pun. But he knows that his audience has been told this lecture before. The difference is that Gordon Brown is saying the words and he’s throwing in jokes. I don’t mean to be overly critical, I was in awe of his ease with speech and the crowd, but he could have given us more to think about.
Admittedly, he tried to. He talked about places in Africa where there are no schools or funds for education and how developed countries should seize the opportunity to invest in human capital. I agree completely. Used correctly, the world has the resources to make everyone everywhere smarter and healthier. This dilemma is as old as humankind and in a way, although I was hoping for more, it’s nice that Gordon Brown is reminding his audiences of its presence. He ended his speech with a Robert Frost allegory, highlighting decision-making and destiny, which was cheesy but in a charming way. Overall, the former prime minister was a blur of cordial anecdotes and good intentions, leaving me and 350 others unfulfilled but entertained.