In the new society, the individual and the family are subject to substantial increases in uncertainty in the economic environment. These are caused by globalization, technological changes, shifts in global power structures, and developments in labour and family relations.

Many social security institutions are in the process of reforming their disability benefit programmes in an effort to reduce historically high numbers of beneficiaries on the rolls.

Inheritance taxes have rarely ever contributed more than two per cent to the budget of any modern state. Nevertheless, in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries some of the most vocal conflicts over taxation took place over inheritance taxes. This holds true for the United States as well as for many European countries.

The new social contract aims to establish a society in which individuals can live meaningful lives. While the state enjoys the outcome of citizens’ responsible acts it has a duty to create the necessary conditions for such actions, and in so doing to close social and economic gaps between families and individuals alike.

Global inequality has risen in recent years, even in circumstances where aggregate growth rates have risen.