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Imprint: Bodley Head
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Published: 04/03/2021
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ISBN: 9781847926272
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Length: 256 Pages
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Dimensions: 240mm x 26mm x 162mm
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Weight: 461g
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RRP: £18.99
What We Owe Each Other
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A New Social Contract
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 FT / McKinsey BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
One of the world's most influential economists sets out the basis for a new social contract fit for the 21st century
'Intelligent and lucid' Martin Wolf, Financial Times, Best Summer Reading 2021
'In the tradition of Beveridge, Shafik points us toward ... a hopeful framework for social, economic, and political renewal' Michael J. Sandel
'Wonderfully illuminating of our interdependence' Amartya Sen
'A powerful and persuasive moral argument ... rigorous and specific enough to help readers think practically about the policies needed' Melinda Gates
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The social contract shapes everything: our political institutions, legal systems and material conditions, but also the organisation of family and community, our well-being, relationships and life prospects. And yet everywhere, the social contract is failing.
Accelerating changes in technology, demography and climate will reshape our world in ways many of us have yet to grasp. In this landmark study, Minouche Shafik, Director of the London School of Economics, draws on evidence from across the globe to identify the key principles every society must adopt if it is to meet the challenges of the coming century, with profound implications for gender equality, education, healthcare provision, the role of business and the future of work.
How should society pool risks, share resources and balance individual with collective responsibility? Brilliantly lucid and accessible, What We Owe Each Other offers new answers to these age-old questions and equips every reader to understand and play their part in the urgent and necessary transformation ahead.
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'A necessary contribution at a turning-point in history ... a must-read' Ursula von der Leyen
'Beautifully argued ... a must-read for all those seeking to understand why the bonds that bind society together are so frayed and what we can do about it' Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
'Weaves economics, philosophy, wisdom and common sense into a social contract of simplicity, solidity and harmony. A must-read recipe for the improvement of our life together' Christine Lagarde
'A thought-provoking addition to our current, urgent debates' Daron Acemoglu
A PROSPECT MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF 2021
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Imprint: Bodley Head
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Published: 04/03/2021
-
ISBN: 9781847926272
-
Length: 256 Pages
-
Dimensions: 240mm x 26mm x 162mm
-
Weight: 461g
-
RRP: £18.99
Reviews
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A persuasive diagnosis of the present social malaise [with] plenty of suggestions about what policymakers could do ... ranges widely ... impressive
Diane Coyle, Financial Times
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A big argument, eloquently written ... eye-catching individual ideas ... entertaining tales ... courageously breaks from the orthodoxies of the pre-crash years
Prospect
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Shafik is an insider, turned radical ... In this intelligent and lucid book, she calls for a new social contract based on three principles: security for all; investment in capability; and efficient and fair sharing of risks
Martin Wolf, Financial Times
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What We Owe Each Other examines the role of the social contract and considers how changes in the global economy have undermined the function of the institutions societies rely on to keep the world a reasonably just place ... Shafik reckons that ... if the social contract breaks down, and people do not adequately look after each other, then crises (of finance, public health or the environment, for example) will threaten prosperity
Economist
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Wonderfully illuminating of our interdependence
Amartya Sen
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A very thoughtful book
Robert Peston, Daily Telegraph
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In this timely call for a new social contract, Minouche Shafik invites us to rethink what we owe one another as citizens, within and across generations. In the tradition of Beveridge, one of her predecessors as director of the LSE, Shafik points us toward a more generous social contract, one that shares risks and broadens opportunity. At a time when government seems broken, this excellent book offers a hopeful framework for social, economic, and political renewal
Michael J. Sandel, author of The Tyranny of Merit: Can We Find the Common Good?
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A necessary contribution at a turning-point in history. Minouche Shafik maps out the great challenges of our time and inspires us to rise to them. Her book is a must-read for policymakers - as well as anyone interested in making the world a better place
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
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Minouche Shafik's up-to-the-moment book presents a powerful and persuasive moral argument. She calls for a more generous, more equal world and offers an analysis that is rigorous and specific enough to help readers think practically about the policies needed to bring that world into being. For societies asking how to rebuild, What We Owe Each Other is an important place to start
Melinda Gates
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A thought-provoking, beautifully argued, and easily accessible book. It is a must-read for all those seeking to understand why the bonds that bind society together are so frayed and what we can do about it to create a world fit for our children and grandchildren to live in
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation
