A Race to the Bottom

Abstract

This chapter unfolds the basis of a new social contract that sets out innovative ways of redistributing risks and opportunities. It also discusses how “committed nationalism” — the nationalism of mutual responsibility that places fellow nationals at the top of one's social priorities — may help to rebuild social solidarity. The chapter then turns to talk about the alliance of conservatives and social democrats, rallying around the nation-state and looking to bring the elites back home in the name of both nationalism and social justice. It demonstrates how the political balance tilted in the direction of the nationalism of the vulnerable rather than in the direction of the nationalism of the affluent. As we enter the age of a new and caring nationalism, the chapter explains four moves that must be taken to tame the new nationalism and make it more liberal and tolerant. Finally, the chapter reviews the significance of reviving the sense of social and political optimism and collective pride that allows individuals and societies to envision a better future for themselves and for the coming generations.