For decades, the state as an economic actor was receding. This has been fuelled by strong convictions among businesses and the public that market forces are the best ordering principle for human interactions. But with the COVID-19 pandemic a different picture has emerged: Nation states and the EU had a revival, putting forth massive investment programs on a scale unimaginable 20 years ago. In the U.S., known for its liberal economic ideas, the Biden administration dwarfed everything with its stimulus and investment packages.

This session will explore where this new path might be taking us in terms of jobs, wages and inflation and whether we believe a certain degree of centrist radicalism is what is needed in light of populism, geopolitics and the massive transformations ahead.