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.

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown played a key role in shaping the G20 nations' response to the world's financial crisis and has been a powerful advocate for a coordinated global response to problems such as climate change, poverty and social justice.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is one of the world's most experienced political leaders, with a deep understanding of the global economy based on 10 years' experience as Great Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer. He has been a key architect of the G8's agreements on poverty and climate change, and has provided a passionate voice to encourage the developed world to aid struggling African countries. He is an advocate of global solutions for global problems -- through both the reinvention of international institution and the advancement of a global ethics.

Mr. Brown has promoted technology as a tool for economic (and environmental) recovery. With his charge to "count the carbon and the pennies," research on electric cars and residential energy efficiency are slated to become a major part of the UK's recovery plan. He has pushed for universal broadband and a general increase in spending on science. He has also sought to use new communication tools like Twitter and YouTube as a means to communicate government policy.