Plunkett sets out a new relationship between the individual and the state and how we can get there. He asks big questions: Can we reverse the mental health crisis by getting rid of Mondays? Is it time to stop poor people being poor by… giving them money? Can we quell the fires of populism by giving young people a say in the future?
Plunkett argues that this is a chance to rethink, renew, and reform some of the most fundamental ways we organise society. In much the same way as societies emerged stronger from crises in the past – building the state as we know it today – we too can build a happier future post Covid.
Plunkett explores nine ways in which our social settlement can be upgraded to harness the power of the digital age. Covering a sweep of geography and history, from London’s 18th Century sewage systems to the uneasy inequality of Silicon Valley, it’s a radical set of ideas to show how society can not only survive, but thrive, in the digital age.