After the virus: lessons from the past for a better future
Tuesday 28 September 2021, 8.00pm to 8.50pm BST
Why was the UK so unprepared for the pandemic, suffering one of the highest death rates and worst economic contractions of the major world economies in 2020? Hilary Cooper and Professor Simon Szreter reveal the deep roots of our vulnerability and set out a powerful manifesto for change post-Covid-19. They argue that our commitment to a flawed neoliberal model and the associated disinvestment in our social fabric left the UK dangerously exposed and unable to mount an effective response. This is not at all what made Britain great. The long history of the highly innovative universal welfare system established by Elizabeth I facilitated both the industrial revolution and, when revived after 1945, the postwar Golden Age of rising prosperity. Only by learning from that past can we create the fairer, nurturing and empowering society necessary to tackle the global challenges that lie ahead - climate change, biodiversity collapse and global inequality.
Following this fascinating conversation with Hilary Cooper and Professor Simon Szreter, there will be an opportunity to ask them questions.
Speakers
Professor Simon Szreter (Pembroke 1976 and Fellow of St John's)
Simon Szreter is Professor in History and Public Policy in the University of Cambridge and Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge. He teaches and researches modern British Economic and Social history since 1700 and the history of World Population, Development and Environment.
He has played a leading role in foregrounding the relationship between history and public policy through numerous publications and as the managing editor of History and Policy, which he co-founded in 2002 and which is based at the UK's Institute of Historical Research.
Hilary Cooper (Queens' 1981)
Hilary Cooper is a Cambridge-based economic consultant, researcher and writer. Her early career was as a government economist and senior policymaker. Her current areas of research include inequality and child poverty; diversity and the gender pay gap; population ageing, social care and intergenerational inequality. Hilary wrote the Bluffer’s Guide to Economics in 2006 and in July 2019 she was announced as joint winner of the 2019 IPPR economics prize for the essay Incentivising an Ethical Economics, along with co-authors Simon Szreter and Ben Szreter. Her latest book After the Virus: Lessons from the Past for a Better Future will be published in September 2021 by Cambridge University Press and is co-authored with Simon Szreter.
After the Virus - Lesson from the past for a better future
Why was the UK so unprepared for the pandemic, suffering one of the highest death rates and worst economic contractions of the major world economies in 2020? Hilary Cooper and Simon Szreter reveal the deep roots of our vulnerability and set out a powerful manifesto for change post-Covid-19. They argue that our commitment to a flawed neoliberal model and the associated disinvestment in our social fabric left the UK dangerously exposed and unable to mount an effective response. This is not at all what made Britain great. The long history of the highly innovative universal welfare system established by Elizabeth I facilitated both the industrial revolution and, when revived after 1945, the postwar Golden Age of rising prosperity. Only by learning from that past can we create the fairer, nurturing and empowering society necessary to tackle the global challenges that lie ahead - climate change, biodiversity collapse and global inequality.
Booking information
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