Time to review the ‘social contract’ to preserve our society

Failure to deliver on issues such as housing, jobs health, and environment breaks thesocial contract, writes Shana Cohen

Surveys in Ireland consistently indicate lack of trust in government responses to critical issues such as access to health services.

A ‘broken social contract’ is regularly cited as the cause of social disintegration and political discontent. It has been blamed for the anti-lockdown protests in China, high unemployment rates among young people across the Middle East and North Africa, as well as in China, and longstanding social and political trends in the US and Europe, from drug addiction to the rise of political polarisation.

In China, the ‘social contract’ is allegedly under threat because of the Zero Covid policy and sluggish economic growth. Accepting surveillance and repression does not mean having food, a job, and a house.