The world entered the first decades of the 21st century out of balance. The flood of new knowledge and new technology that had so shaped the 20th century showed no signs of letting up. Most objective data showed a world enjoying unprecedented progress – in average levels of income, health and education, the spread of democracy and reductions in absolute poverty.

But on many fronts acute social imbalances and problems – from inequality to mental illness to feelings of lost dignity – undermined much sense of satisfaction. These pointed to a widening gulf between cumulative progress in science and technology and modest, if any, progress in social organisation. The world seemed to have taken an anti-social turn: devaluing social matters, social value and social concerns. The progressive story of cumulative advance, rights building on rights, was stuttering to a halt; life chances were being spread more narrowly; income was stagnant for large minorities; the economy more often seemed to be a threat to society rather than a support; and in some countries there were signs of an epidemic of social isolation.

Since the Second World War economics had supplanted other social sciences as the primary source of insight and its blind spots were reflected in the failings of the new order: not acknowledging social and environmental costs; knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing; and underestimating the importance of the social environments that make economies work. In innovation policy all efforts focused on hardware. And the dominant disciplines had little to say as powerful new social media permeated social life, often weakening social ties rather than strengthening them.

These various pathologies are now prompting a return of attention to the social, the detailed relationships of societies, the knowledge needed to understand them and the actions needed to put them right.

To take just one example of many. The World Happiness Report in 20191 concluded that relationships explained more of the differences in wellbeing between nations than anything else. People's answers to the question ‘If you were in trouble, do you have relatives or friends you can count on to help you whenever you need them, or not?’ explained 34% of the wellbeing score, more than income (26%) or healthy life expectancy (21%).