Future Tense Building a new social contract
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Dec 25, 2025 
Join Aron Cramer, President of BSR, Marc Fleurbaey from the Paris School of Economics, Harvard’s Sandra Sucher, and anthropologist Dave Cook as they dive into the urgent need to redefine the social contract. They discuss how rising inequality and globalization have rendered the mid-20th-century model obsolete. Cramer addresses the need for climate-resilient protections, while Sucher highlights public expectations for businesses to tackle social issues. Cook examines the digital nomad lifestyle and its tensions with state obligations. A thought-provoking conversation on equity and trust!
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Social Contract Is Formal And Informal
- The social contract defines expected social protections paid by governments, business and citizens together.
- Aron Cramer says it includes both formal safety nets and informal norms like views on executive pay.
Distribution, Not Markets, Is The Core Problem
- Markets drive productivity and access to prosperity but benefits and risks are unevenly distributed.
- Marc Fleurbaey argues the crisis stems from unfair distribution of innovation's gains and risks.
Old Assumptions Undermine Today's Contract
- The mid‑20th century social contract assumed stable, homogeneous family and employment structures.
- Aron Cramer says those assumptions no longer hold, making the old model obsolete.