The welfare state faces intellectual, political and policy challenges whichquestion its rationale, its legitimacy and its effectiveness. There have been distinct phases in the development of the welfare state which include the extension of social rights to all citizens in the first half of the twentieth century, the retrenchmentin the 1970s, and the new ideas around social investment in the 1990s. A new phase has opened with the adoption of austerity programmes following the financial crash in 2008 and economic recession. The future of the welfare state is once again in questionand to survive it needs continuing reformsand a new vision of democratic citizenship.
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Critically challenging mainstream representations of “the economic”, the chapter draws on empirical research to inform an economic imaginary based on diversity and difference. Rethinking the economic is argued to be vital at a time of crisis and perplexity, particularly if it encourages a radical re-appraisal and re-valuing of non-capitalistforms of work and organization in everyday western society. While emphasising the need for greater recognition of the interconnected and overlapping nature of contrasting economic typologies, the chapter concludes by arguing that utopian visions of a capitalist society, based on “fullemployment”, should be rejected in favour of “post-capitalist”societies based on full and meaningful forms of engagement. […]
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While much attention has been paid to the crisis of work and the threats and opportunities posed by rising automation, much less focus has been given to care work specifically. This article examines the changing organisation of social reproduction in high-income societies, and outlinesthe emerging crisis of care constituted by the retreat of the state, the stagnation of wages, and the ageing of the population. The articleproceeds to set out a postwork vision of care work that responds to this crisis.
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This chapter begins by describing the concepts of human development, poverty and inequality under this new conceptualization –intrinsically linked but describing different characteristics of well-being. It then presents recently developed indices that are widely used to measure these phenomena and discusses several methodological considerations of their implementation. In particular, the chapter focuses on the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), a measure that complements more traditional monetary measures of poverty by recognizing that this phenomenon has many forms and dimensions.
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Many interpretations of international conflict share common assumptions regarding the default oppositional nature of states or cultures. According to Realism, the predominant theory of International Relations, conflict arises inevitably, and is a natural outcome of a highly competitive international environment. It is also a reflection, and extension, of the competitive, selfish and power driven nature […]
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The three biggest disruptions in history were the introduction of humans, farming, and industry. A similar disruption could arise from artificial intelligence in the form of whole brain emulations, or “ems,” some time in the next century. Drawing on academic consensus in many disciplines, I outline a baseline scenario set modestly far into a post-em-transition world. I consider computer architecture, energy, cooling, mind speeds, body sizes, security strategies, virtual reality, labor markets, management, job training, careers, wages, identity, retirement, life cycles, reproduction, mating, conversation, inequality, cities, growth rates, coalition politics, governance, law, and war. […]
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Emerging technologies, such as industrial robots, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, are advancing at a rapid pace. These developments can improve the speed, quality, and cost of goods and services, but they also displace large numbers of workers. This possibility challenges the traditional benefits model of tying health care and retirement savings to jobs. In an economy that employs dramatically fewer workers, we need to think about how to deliver benefits to displaced workers. If automation makes jobs less secure in the future, there needs to be a way to deliver benefits outside of employment. “Flexicurity,” or flexible security, is one idea for providing health care, education, and housing assistance, whether or not someone is formally employed. In addition, activity accounts can finance lifelong education and worker retraining. No matter how people choose to spend time, there needs to be ways for people to live fulfilling lives even if society needs fewer workers. […]
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The Copernican revolution displaced us from the center of the universe. The Darwinian revolution displaced us from the center of the biological kingdom. And the Freudian revolution displaced us from the center of our mental lives. Today, Computer Science and digital ICTs are causing a fourth revolution, radically changing once again our conception of who we are and our “exceptional centrality.” We are not at the center of the infosphere. We are not standalone entities, but rather interconnected informational agents, sharing with other biological agents and smart artifacts a global environment ultimately made of information. Having changed our views about ourselves and our world, are ICTs going to enable and empower us, or constrain us? The answer lies in an ecological and ethical approach to natural and artificial realities. We must put the “e” in an environmentalism that can deal successfully with the new issues caused by the fourth revolution. […]
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Humanity has always faced threats to its global survival, such as asteroid impacts and supervolcanoes. Yet now the greatest risks we face may be a result of our own scientific and civilizational progress. We are developing technologies of unprecedented power, such as nuclear weapons and engineered organisms. We are also wiping out species, changing the climate, and burning through the earth’s resources at an unsustainable rate as the global population soars. However, the coming century’s breakthroughs in science and technology will also provide powerful solutions to many of the greatest challenges we face. […]
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The Earth has existed for forty-five million centuries —and even longer timespans lie ahead before the Sun dies. But even in this vast time-perspective, the present century is special. It is the first when humans may establish communities away from the Earth. And it is the first when they may create electronic intelligences that surpass their own all-round capabilities, and also achieve the ability to bio-engineer their progeny. In this chapter, some aspects of this transition are discussed, along with some even more speculative comments about “post-human” evolution, and the future of the universe itself. […]
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