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  1. Home
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  3. After the Virus
  • Cited by 9
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
August 2021
Print publication year:
2021
Online ISBN:
9781009036412
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009036412
Subjects:
History, Political Economy, Politics and International Relations, Economic History
Information

Book description

Why was the UK so unprepared for the pandemic, suffering one of the highest death rates and worst economic contractions of the major world economies in 2020? Hilary Cooper and Simon Szreter reveal the deep roots of our vulnerability and set out a powerful manifesto for change post-Covid-19. They argue that our commitment to a flawed neoliberal model and the associated disinvestment in our social fabric left the UK dangerously exposed and unable to mount an effective response. This is not at all what made Britain great. The long history of the highly innovative universal welfare system established by Elizabeth I facilitated both the industrial revolution and, when revived after 1945, the postwar Golden Age of rising prosperity. Only by learning from that past can we create the fairer, nurturing and empowering society necessary to tackle the global challenges that lie ahead - climate change, biodiversity collapse and global inequality.

Reviews

‘… original and compelling.’

Will Hutton Source: The Observer

'… (a) wonderfully readable and historically informed account.'

Michael Marmot Source: The Lancet

‘A critically important assessment of the current state of governance of healthcare and the economy in the UK - uniquely placed in historical context. The disastrous mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic provides an ideal launch-pad for this critique, which also demonstrates a clear path to a better future. It should be in the hands of everyone in the country who cares about and has responsibility for our future.’

Sir David King - former UK Chief Scientific Adviser and Climate Envoy, Chair of Independent SAGE

‘What lessons does the past hold for shaping a better post-pandemic future? This book, with its powerful account of the intolerable inequalities of the present, argues for a revival of the moral foundations of the successful social contracts of earlier periods of British history.’

Diane Coyle - author of Markets, State and People: Economics for Public Policy

‘It is quite a feat to trace the vagaries of English social history from the Elizabethan Poor Law, through mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, to the seven pillars of what a good society should look like. But these wonderfully accessible authors have done it. Bravo.’

Sir Michael Marmot - author of Build Back Fairer: The COVID-19 Marmot Review

‘Impressive analysis of how 40 years of neoliberalism severely increased inequalities and the impact of the pandemic, and how a secure, mutually supportive society with a strong economy can be restored. Let’s hope our government finds it inspiring and acts accordingly.’

Pat Thane - author of Divided Kingdom. A History of Britain, 1900 to the Present

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