Various politicians present themselves as having the answers to our financial woes yet, as bestselling author Guy Fraser-Sampson shows, they are not part of the solution. They are the problem. His trenchant views have been heard frequently on radio and television programmes discussing the current situation. Here he sets out the facts supporting his belief that at every opportunity politicians choose the course of action which pursues their own short-term political ends, rather than doing what is right for the national long-term interest. In an entertaining mix of historical narrative and conceptual analysis, he argues that the present crisis has in fact been several decades in the making, and is the inevitable outcome of years of neglect and betrayal by those we have trusted to serve and govern us. As national debt reaches record levels around the world, and politicians continue to pile up fresh borrowings year after year, many are starting to ask just what, if anything, can be done to rescue us from the stark consequences of government folly. 'The Mess We're In' will open your eyes to the true causes of the crisis, and suggest some radical common-sense measures to drag the world back from the edge of the abyss.

1. 'Just why are we in this mess?' 2. The Tangled Knot 3. Money and Inflation 4. Markets and Crashes 5. Keynes and the Great Depression 6. Keynes's General Theory 7. Marx and the Marshall Plan 8. Building a New Jerusalem 9. 'A little local difficulty' 10. The Chickens Come Home to Roost 11. The Thatcher Revolution 12. A Last Chance Squandered 13. 'Certificates of Dubious Odour' 14. Planning to Fight the Last War 15. Drinking Poison Can Be Dangerous 16. Democracy and Totalitarianism 17. The Great Pensions Disaster 18. 'New Ideas From Dead Economists' 19. Getting Ourselves Out of the Mess