MINUSH SHAFIK
Together: a new social contract for the 21st century
trans.: George Maragos
ed. Metaihmio, 2022 P. 304

In his book Together: A New Social Contract for the 21st Century, Minus Shafik, director of the London School of Economics and Political Science, endorses Abraham Lincoln’s famous quote: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” .

There are two specific reasons for the failure of our current social contract: technology and the changing role of women.

What explains today the violation of the social contract around the world? What is the reason for this general discontent, which is recorded even in very prosperous corners of the planet? The answers to this simple but important question are varied and often cause more confusion. The world has become very complex, and simple answers to complex questions always raise reasonable suspicions of simplification.

However, some astute analysts can give clearer answers than others because they know how to properly use their knowledge and experience. Minus Shafik, as director of the London School of Economics and Political Science, is one of those people who lacks both credibility and clarity. She was born in Egypt and immigrated at an early age with her family to the United States, where she completed her studies. She received a master’s degree in economics from the UK and at the age of 36 became the youngest Vice President of the World Bank. Since then, he has been appointed to very important positions in influential institutions such as the IMF and the Bank of England. He was knighted by the Queen of England in 2015 and has been a member of the House of Lords since 2020.

Shafiq is clear in his answer. There are two specific reasons for the failure of our current social contract: technology and the changing role of women. That is what she claims in her book Together: A New Social Contract for the 21st Century. “Many of today’s problems are the rise of populism, the backlash against globalization and technology, the economic fallout from the 2008 financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, culture wars over race and the role of women in society, youth climate protests. changes are bells and whistles that alert us to the need for a new social contract,” writes Shafik.

The author, with a large dose of abstraction, analyzes the main parameters and conditions that this contract should have in relation to childhood, education, health, work, old age and generations, but comes to very stable conclusions. With regard to technology in particular, he is aware of the enormous destruction they bring to the world by threatening the professions, reducing costs and upsetting the balance, and looks forward to specific policies that use their potential for the benefit of humanity. Shafik pays great attention to the retraining and professional development of all employees, speaks about the importance of early education and the opportunities that new technologies open up for patient care and treatment. No social thorn remains outside her research lens. He proposes policies for pension schemes, public debt servicing, regulation and taxation of multinational companies, climate change.

The three main principles of the solutions he proposes are as follows: a) everyone should have the bare minimum for a decent life, b) everyone should contribute to the best of their ability and have the maximum opportunity to do so, and c) the burden of protection from risks such as disease , unemployment and the risks of old age, should be common to the whole society.

Shafik’s book in English is called “What We Owe to Each Other”. The author believes that we owe much more than we think. The pandemic has shown us that we are extremely interdependent. “Critical turning points can create opportunities for more inclusive economic deals as people demand more from society. During the 20th century, the Great Depression brought the United States to the New Deal. World War II led to the creation of the modern welfare state in the United Kingdom and the Marshall Plan throughout Europe. Today’s global pandemic is such an opportunity for change.”

Shafik’s proposal, she writes, “is not about expanding the welfare state, but about investing in people and creating a new system of risk-sharing to improve the overall welfare.” Her book should be read by everyone involved in public affairs and not only. Our social contract defines the architecture of opportunity and removes the potential risks that govern our lives, so it affects us all.