REPLAY
Democracies around the world are facing multiple crises. There are growing social and political tensions over inequalities, cultural wars and the very fabric of democracy, and attempts to tackle environmental challenges seem only to be fuelling the flames. We (at IDDRI and the Hot or Cool Institute) believe that our current social contract is key to understanding these problems–partly because it is not being fulfilled, and partly because it is not consistent with the transition to sustainable societies that we need for the 21st century. The transformation of lifestyles and economies needed to achieve such societies cannot be simply imposed on the public: it must be negotiated as part of a new social contract.
In this webinar, we presented the results of our first report as part of a joint project on the social contract, entitled: How did we get here? A short history of the 19th and 20th centuries social contracts in France and in the UK.
We discussed the implications of the report for future work on a new social contract, and how a new social contract can help us advance towards a sustainable society. Experts from IDDRI and the Hot or Cool Institute have been joined by panellists including Jo Swinson (Director, Partners for the New Economy and former leader of the UK Liberal Democrat party), Professor Julia Steinberger (University of Lausanne), Professor Philippe Pochet (Fellow, Green European Foundation, and former General Director of the European Trade Union Institute), Claire Bulger (Director of Strategic Foresight, European Climate Foundation), Oliver Greenfield (Convener, Green Economy Coalition) and Magalí Brosio (Economist and Project manager, ZOE – Institute for future-fit economies).
