TED Blog

Main

01 December 2009

Gordon Brown on global ethic vs. national interest

Can the interests of an individual nation be reconciled with humanity’s greater good? Can a patriotic, nationally elected politician really give people in other countries equal consideration? Following his TEDTalk calling for a global ethic, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown fields questions from TED Curator Chris Anderson. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2009, July 2009, Oxford, UK. Duration: 17:11)

Twitter URL: http://on.ted.com/192P

Watch Gordon Brown’s Q&A on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 500+ TEDTalks.

Bookmark and Share
  • Bjarki Magnusson

    Dec 1 2009

    Is this some kind of sick joke ? Letting this guy talk about ethics is hypocrisy !

  • Mr H

    Dec 2 2009

    I’d like to see changes in the way we approach politics, especially at the UN level. I don’t trust the ideas of the charismatic amateurs. I want my politicians to have a good all round knowledge of the way the world works before s/he is allowed anywhere near political office. And i’d like this verified, whether it be through, Proof of study, Relevant life experience or passing a test in ‘ethical standards & aptitude’ for politicians. Many of the worlds most serious problems, Wars, Starvation, Energy Crisis, Social Injustices, Rouge Dictators, Political Blunders. often have a common obstacle in the way of the global efforts needed for their solutions. Our Leaders & those who have the power to influence change are extremely inefficient in doing so, as they often lack the relevant experience & therefore are rarely on the same page to begin with. Its like attempting to build a house with random people, instead of employing a skilled team, just imagine the inefficiency & squabbling!

  • Mr H

    Dec 2 2009

    I’d like to see changes in the way we approach politics, especially at the UN level. I don’t trust the ideas of the charismatic amateurs. I want my politicians to have a good all round knowledge of the way the world works before s/he is allowed anywhere near political office. And i’d like this verified, whether it be through, Proof of study, Relevant life experience or passing a test in ‘ethical standards & aptitude’ for politicians. Many of the worlds most serious problems, Wars, Starvation, Energy Crisis, Social Injustices, Rouge Dictators, Political Blunders. often have a common obstacle in the way of the global efforts needed for their solutions. Our Leaders & those who have the power to influence change are extremely inefficient in doing so, as they often lack the relevant experience & therefore are rarely on the same page to begin with. Its like attempting to build a house with random people, instead of employing a skilled team, just imagine the inefficiency & squabbling!

  • Mr H

    Dec 2 2009

    I’d like to see changes in the way we approach politics, especially at the UN level. I don’t trust the ideas of the charismatic amateurs. I want my politicians to have a good all round knowledge of the way the world works before s/he is allowed anywhere near political office. And i’d like this verified, whether it be through, Proof of study, Relevant life experience or passing a test in ‘ethical standards & aptitude’ for politicians. Many of the worlds most serious problems, Wars, Starvation, Energy Crisis, Social Injustices, Rouge Dictators, Political Blunders. often have a common obstacle in the way of the global efforts needed for their solutions. Our Leaders & those who have the power to influence change are extremely inefficient in doing so, as they often lack the relevant experience & therefore are rarely on the same page to begin with. Its like attempting to build a house with random people, instead of employing a skilled team, just imagine the inefficiency & squabbling!


Read the TED Prize Blog at TEDPrize.org
Read the TED Fellows Blog
Read the TEDx Blog

Find stories on the TED Blog about:

TED on Facebook

Become a Fan of TED
on Facebook


@TEDTalks on Twitter

Follow TED on Twitter:
@TEDNews | @TEDTalks


RSS

Subscribe to TED RSS feeds:
TED Blog | More RSS Options



Subscribe to TED's weekly newsletter


See 1,000+ TEDTalks in a spreadsheet:


http://tedconfblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/spreadsheetscreen.jpg

Spot a glitch on TED? Report a bug




TED takeaway


TED ringtones:
TEDTalks Classic tune in [mp3] [m4r]
TEDTalks Phase II tune in [mp3] [m4r]

TED Bloggers

Chris Anderson | Curator
June Cohen | Executive Producer of TED Media
Emily McManus | Editor, TED.com
Matthew Trost | Assistant Editor, TED.com
Jenny Zurawell | Translation Specialist, TED.com
Bruno Giussani | TED European Director
Jason Wishnow | Director, Film + Video
Jim Daly | Editor, TED Books
Jane Wulf | TED Scribe
Guestblogger: Ben Lillie | Curator, the Story Collider
Guestblogger: Karen Eng | Youth editor, TUNZA
Guestblogger: James Duncan Davidson | Photographer
Guestblogger: Rachel Tobias | never-have-i-ever.tumblr.com

Blogs we watch

+ TEDPrize.org
+ TED Fellows blog
+ TEDx Blog
+ tedquotes.tumblr.com
+ Thomas Dolby | TED Musical Director, blogging at ThomasDolby.com
+ The indispensable Global Voices

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Powered by WordPress.com VIP