Christopher Pierson is Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Nottingham. In a career spanning four decades, he has held visiting posts at the University of California, Johns Hopkins University, the Australian National University, the University of Auckland and the Hansewissenshaftskolleg. He has two main research interests: the contemporary welfare state and the history of private property. He is editor of The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State (2010, 2021) and sole author of three editions of Beyond the Welfare State? (2006) and of three volumes of Just Property (2013, 2016, 2020).

• Introduction1. Welfare in an age of austerity2. The last social democratic welfare state3. Back to the future, again4. Future imperfect5. COVID-19 and afterConclusion