The Era of the Safety State: Summary

The current social crisis and the shape of things to come

The current coronavirus pandemic has had a profound effect on human health, mass psychology, and the global economy.

However, there is also much more than this to an unprecedented break in the economy, as we saw so clearly a decade ago, when the Great Recession spawned social disruptions and populist political movements that are still reverberating strongly today.

This article makes the case that the social and political response to the pandemic is ushering in the era of the safety state, a fundamental change and a response to today’s complete breakdown of social trust and stability. The crisis moment will dissipate with time but the safety state will continue.

There are three essential characteristics of the safety state:

First, it is a world that is turned upside down,

Second, it is anchored in a lack of trust in other people and in social structures, and

Third, there is a deep yearning for certainty and protection.

The article outlines 10 reasons to think that the aftershocks of the crisis will last much longer than usual.

We now need to restore our connections and those organizations and companies that can deliver safe connections between people are going to be the ones that reap the undoubted opportunities that are arising.

Those that cannot will be quickly sidestepped by the market, which has shifted dramatically towards values of trust, security, stability, reliability, community, and safety.

The full article is found here.