A New Social Contract? Part 1: Defining the Issues

Thought Spark

Back in March of 2020, I applied the techniques from “Seeing Around Corners” to what kind of economic and social future we might anticipate post-pandemic. One of the scenarios I outlined was a return to the kind of large role for government that defined the New Deal. My “Time Zero” headline was “In an Echo of FDR’s “rendezvous with destiny” speech, officials turn to government programs and taxation to combat economic “tyranny.”

Well here we are just around the beginning of a new administration, and that scenario is looking more and more likely. I was asked by Ravi Mattu of the Financial Times to outline indicators for whether we might get more human workplaces. While he did cite me in his piece, our behind-the-scenes exchange was much richer. I’ll share with you, dear readers, in this thought spark and the next. This one will focus on weaker signals getting stronger. The next one will look at some policy proposals and the debates likely to accompany them.

Signals becoming stronger

In Seeing Around Corners, I point out that major inflection points usually evolve, as the old Hemingway line goes, “gradually, then suddenly.” What I look for in this evolution is evidence that…