The need for such a body is argued from many starting points. First, there is the current widespread economic recession. As he met President Obama at the beginning of March, Gordon Brown insisted that our financial difficulties stemmed from a failure of the banking system worldwide. ‘Bold global action, a global grand deal, is not now just necessary, but is vitally urgent to deal with the challenges of the world economy’, he said. In April, a meeting of leaders is scheduled in London, hoping to take decisions to secure the world’s economic future. Wouldn’t an authoritative body to oversee the planet’s economics make sense?