---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes it takes a crisis for people to…"
description: "\"Sometimes it takes a crisis for people to agree that what is obvious and should have been done years ago, can no longer be postponed. We must create a ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/gordon-brown-8917_age_sometimes-it-takes-a-crisis-for-people-t_268334.jpg"
---

#  Sometimes it takes a crisis for people to agree that what…

![“Sometimes it takes a crisis for people to agree that what is obvious and should have been done years ago, can no longer be postponed. We must create a new international financial architecture for the global age.” quote by Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/gordon-brown-8917_age_sometimes-it-takes-a-crisis-for-people-t_268334.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/gordon-brown-8917_age_sometimes-it-takes-a-crisis-for-people-t_268334.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/gordon-brown-8917_age_sometimes-it-takes-a-crisis-for-people-t_268334.jpg)

> “Sometimes it takes a crisis for people to agree that what is obvious and should have been done years ago, can no longer be postponed. We must create a new international financial architecture for the global age.”

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Crises reveal neglected problems, prompting urgent creation of a modern global financial system.

**In simple terms:** Crises force change, urging new international finance structures.

Key Takeaway

Support reforms for resilient global finance.

Themes

economics reform crisis global governance

Mood

urgent strategic

Type

policy inspirational

When to use this quote

- government budgeting
- international trade
- investment regulation
- climate finance

Key Concepts

systemic risk financial architecture policy innovation

Questions to Reflect On

- What obstacles exist to redesigning finance globally?
- How can stakeholders align on urgent reforms?

A Different Perspective

Political resistance and national interests may stall reforms.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Agree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agree/) [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Architecture Global](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture-global-2628392/) [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Financial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financial/) [Financial Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financial-architecture-2228447/) [Global Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/global-age-2628390/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [International](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/international/) [International Financial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/international-financial-1333166/) [Obvious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Should have](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should-have/) [Should have been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should-have-been/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Takes Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/takes-crisis-2628391/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/)

## Related quotes

> [As we enter the 21st Century it is clear that we have entered an unprecedented global age in which our diverse cultures, religions, philosophies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashok-gangadean/as-we-enter-the-21st-century-it-is-clear-that-we-have-entered-an/)

[Ashok Gangadean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashok-gangadean/)

> [The great challenge of the twentieth century ... is to create a new financial architecture in which private decisions produce a less degenerate capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hutton/the-great-challenge-of-the-twentieth-century-is-to-create-a-new/)

[Will Hutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hutton/)

> [Unlike other essential goods, like clothing, shelter, or food, we take cheap or even free water for granted. It often takes a crisis, such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-angel-gurria/unlike-other-essential-goods-like-clothing-shelter-or-food-we-take/)

[Jose Angel Gurria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-angel-gurria/)

> [Our overriding goal in restructuring our financial architecture should be that taxpayers never again have to save a failing financial institution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/our-overriding-goal-in-restructuring-our-financial-architecture/)

[Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/)

> [The longer it takes you to see a crisis for what it truly is, the disproportionately worse it's likely to get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-longer-it-takes-you-to-see-a-crisis-for-what-it-truly-is-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [We do not have to borrow in the external market, but we have used and are using this traditional instrument in international financial relations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/we-do-not-have-to-borrow-in-the-external-market-but-we-have-used-and/)

[Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/)

> [Our strength in finance has led us to set up an international financial centre with medium and long-term objectives, especially to develop Islamic financial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hassanal-bolkiah/our-strength-in-finance-has-led-us-to-set-up-an-international/)

[Hassanal Bolkiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hassanal-bolkiah/)

> [The world economy today is recovering slowly, and there are still some destabilising factors and uncertainties. The underlying impact of the international financial crisis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hu-jintao/the-world-economy-today-is-recovering-slowly-and-there-are-still-some/)

[Hu Jintao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hu-jintao/)

> [“Deep and liquid markets in a country’s domestic economy are the essential shock absorbers through which the perilous waters of international financial integration can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bibek-debroy/deep-and-liquid-markets-in-a-country-s-domestic-economy-are-the/)

[Bibek Debroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bibek-debroy/)

> [A default of the US government would not only be very harmful here, it would probably send the country back into deep recession, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/a-default-of-the-us-government-would-not-only-be-very-harmful-here-it/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [Thousands of years of ideological, philosophical and practical decisions were made. They altered the surface of the earth, the coordinates of our souls. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/thousands-of-years-of-ideological-philosophical-and-practical/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [And the United States of America should have been at the front of that line. And was not. ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberley-strassel/and-the-united-states-of-america-should-have-been-at-the-front-of/)

[Kimberley Strassel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberley-strassel/)

> [From '86 until the summer of last year, wherever I went, people would say, You would have made a great James Bond! Weren't you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/from-86-until-the-summer-of-last-year-wherever-i-went-people-would/)

[Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/)

> [I am the epitome of the underdog. By societies standards I should have been dead a long time ago, and I was nobody's gangster,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-k-williams/i-am-the-epitome-of-the-underdog-by-societies-standards-i-should-have/)

[Michael K. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-k-williams/)

> [I'm happy with my career but I could have been happier if I could have been treated like a champion should have been treated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-holmes/i-m-happy-with-my-career-but-i-could-have-been-happier-if-i-could/)

[Larry Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-holmes/)

## More by Gordon Brown

> [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

> [Jubilee 2000 is a broad coalition which has moved the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/jubilee-2000-is-a-broad-coalition-which-has-moved-the-earth/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

> [We are entering an era in which national government, instead of directing, enables powerful regional and local initiatives to work, where Britain becomes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-are-entering-an-era-in-which-national-government-instead-of/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

> [I understand that in the UK there have already been 10,000 complaints from viewers about these remarks, which people see, rightly, as offensive. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/i-understand-that-in-the-uk-there-have-already-been-10-000-complaints/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

> [I'm a great supporter of the European Union. I didn't support entry to the Euro, not because I'm against it in principle but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/i-m-a-great-supporter-of-the-european-union-i-didn-t-support-entry-to/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

> [There is nothing that you could say to me now that I could ever believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/there-is-nothing-that-you-could-say-to-me-now-that-i-could-ever/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

> [56,000 companies have already benefited from the schemes that we have brought in. If we have taken the advice of the Conservative Party, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/56-000-companies-have-already-benefited-from-the-schemes-that-we-have/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

> [I am happy for there to be a leadership contest. I think there should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/i-am-happy-for-there-to-be-a-leadership-contest-i-think-there-should/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

> [...in just 25 years the glaciers in the Himalayas which provide water for three-quarters of a billion people could disappear entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/in-just-25-years-the-glaciers-in-the-himalayas-which-provide-water/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

> [Think for a moment: what is the British equivalent of the U.S. Fourth of July, or even the French 14th of July for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/think-for-a-moment-what-is-the-british-equivalent-of-the-u-s-fourth/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

> [What is gained by debt relief and aid can be lost if we don't get a proper trade agreement in Hong Kong,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/what-is-gained-by-debt-relief-and-aid-can-be-lost-if-we-don-t-get-a/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

> [So another challenge for our generation is to create global institutions that reflect our ideas of fairness and responsibility, not the ideas that were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/so-another-challenge-for-our-generation-is-to-create-global/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

> [My favourite sport at school was rugby. All sports are teamwork, but rugby particularly is about teamwork and I think teamwork is the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/my-favourite-sport-at-school-was-rugby-all-sports-are-teamwork-but/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

> [Britain and Pakistan will jointly fight the menace of terrorism .. Both the countries are facing a common threat of terrorism and we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/britain-and-pakistan-will-jointly-fight-the-menace-of-terrorism-both/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

> [I believe there is a moral sense and a global ethic that commands attention from people of every religion and every faith, and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/i-believe-there-is-a-moral-sense-and-a-global-ethic-that-commands/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

[Explore all 77 Gordon Brown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

## More Age quotes

> [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/)

[Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/)

> [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/)

[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/)

[Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/)

> [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/)

[Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/)

> [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/)

[Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/)

[Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/)

> [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/)

[Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/)

> [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/)

[Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/)

> [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/)

[Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/)

> [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/)

[Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/)

> [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/)

[Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/)

> [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/)

[Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/)

[Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Sometimes it takes a crisis for people to agree that what is obvious and should have been done years ago, can no longer be postponed. We must create a new international financial architecture for the global age.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Gordon Brown"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/sometimes-it-takes-a-crisis-for-people-to-agree-that-what-is-obvious/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Age"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/sometimes-it-takes-a-crisis-for-people-to-agree-that-what-is-obvious/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/gordon-brown-8917_age_sometimes-it-takes-a-crisis-for-people-t_268334.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/gordon-brown-8917_age_sometimes-it-takes-a-crisis-for-people-t_268334.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/gordon-brown-8917_age_sometimes-it-takes-a-crisis-for-people-t_268334.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Sometimes it takes a crisis for people to agree that what is obvious and should have been done years ago…” — Gordon Brown",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Gordon Brown",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Sometimes it takes a crisis for...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/sometimes-it-takes-a-crisis-for-people-to-agree-that-what-is-obvious/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/sometimes-it-takes-a-crisis-for-people-to-agree-that-what-is-obvious/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
