From the Welfare State to the Eco-State? Production and Protection in the Twenty-First Century. Virtual lecture by Pierre Charbonnier in the series “Carte Blanche IV”

The welfare state is an heir to the pact between political emancipation and economic growth that was forged in the age of Enlightenment. In the specific historical conjuncture of the post-war period, the new frontier of science and productivity has been integral to a form of capitalism that was both partly democratised and increasingly dependent on fossil infrastructures. This configuration raises the question of the relationship between social justice, growth regimes and the Anthropocene. Indeed, we are now forced to question the sustainability of forms of social protection that depend on productivity policies. For political philosophy, this is an important…