What We Owe Eachother, by Minouche Shafik

Hey, are you mad at the world? Do you feel like something is… off? But you can't quite put your finger on what? Read this book, you will understand why you are so mad.

This book is incredibly accessible. Even though it explores and analyses complex socio-economic concepts and studies, even a person like myself, who did not study economy or sociology in University, is able to, not only follow the author’s ideas, but digest these concepts and link them to real life situations.

In ‘What We Owe Each Other’, Minouche Shafik showcases the different facets of the social contract we all enter, unwilling and sometimes unaware, simply by being born. Since widespread industrialisation and the change in workload and family dynamics, the people of each given country contributes and benefits from social contracts. This is the idea that during our peak labour years, we contribute with taxes to a fund that has in return helped us in childhood, through the education system, and will keep helping us whether that's through parental leave, access to medical care or care when we grow old. Shafik then explains that the social contract that was established in most Western countries at the beginning of the 20th century is no longer effective and that the younger generation in the workforce has become disengaged and hopeless. The author poses the question: what needs to change within the social contract so that it still serves its purpose?

In my opinion, the fault within this book is that explores the concept of social contract with a very capitalistic approach. Given how the majority of Western economies are set up, this approach makes sense as it explores the concept within its current confides. The solutions proposed by the author are, therefore, very limited. Personally, I believe solutions to the current state of the social contract should be explored beyond the restrictions of capitalism. The current solutions do not acknowledge the fact that resources are finite and it does not correct social imbalances between classes; it merely propose that there should be more hope for people to move between social classes. This does not take into account that lower income and less access to resources would still be prevalent even if countries across the world implemented the author's solutions. Quite frankly, and to put it more colloquially, it's giving ‘poor people need to exist, they just need hope that if they work hard enough they can overcome their social condition so that they keep working really hard’. 

All in all, it is a good starting point for someone who has an interest in sociology and economics and is looking for a practical and accessible way to explore current statistics and facts about the way people are governed.