Is collective welfare a right or an individual responsibility?
In short: The COVID-19 pandemic has reignited a fundamental debate over the social contract. This lecture by economic historian Martin Daunton explores whether we should prioritize personal savings or collective taxation to support the vulnerable.
Recorded in November 2020, this lecture examines how the pandemic exposed fractures in our social safety nets. From the devastating impact on youth employment to high mortality rates among the elderly in care homes, Daunton uses these crises to question the balance between individual and state obligations.
The core tension lies in whether essential services—like pensions and end-of-life care—should be funded through private responsibility or public taxes. By analyzing this shift, Daunton provides a historical and economic perspective on what it means to owe something to society in an era of global crisis.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: What Do We Owe Society? - Martin Daunton
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