Society is built on social contracts, but neoliberalism broke many of our key contracts - worker power, social safety nets, institutional trust... Can they be repaired?


Eric Beinhocker, our Executive Director, recently talked to Nick Hanauer and David Goldstein about his latest research on fair social contracts for an episode of the Pitchfork Economics podcast.

Human society is built on social contracts, but decades of neoliberalism have left many of our most fundamental contracts - worker power, social safety nets, trust in key institutions - in tatters. It’s no wonder people are pissed off: without fairness, we can’t have cooperation, and without cooperation, we can’t have a strong economy… or a strong democracy. Can we restore the social contracts that served us so well, or has our sense of fairness been damaged beyond repair?

To discuss this, Professor Beinhocker delves into his latest research into the psychology and economics of cooperation.

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'Cooperation is the foundation of any prosperous society. And to make that happen, you need lots of fairness in social relations.' Eric Beinhocker, Executive Director of INET Oxford