This volume is published at a time when the big ideological claim that social justice and economic efficiency are two sides of the same coin has largely been won in advanced societies. However, if the ideological heights have been scaled, sound evidence-based policy making has not always followed!

Too often, the ‘New Scotland’ hesitates, unsure of its future. The 20th century may have gone, but its death throes reverberate, thrusting its deep tentacles into our present. This volume provides emerging route maps for moving towards realising that New Scotland. However, Scotland will only be able to build a consensus for change if that change is firmly rooted in a serious analysis of Scottish society. For example, acknowledging that despite the professed commitment of Scottish society to greater equality, Scottish citizens have frequently endured deeper and more intransigent levels of poverty than elsewhere.

Citizens of the 21st century look to government to improve the links between economic and social priorities, to better balance the demands of competitiveness and cohesion, and to renew the social contracts of the past for today's purposes. Governments may have less power over currencies, technologies and the flow of information, but modern government is also better able to shape vital aspects of our lives – eliminating childhood poverty, winning the war against crime and delivering better health. The volume looks forward to the challenges of balancing work, life, leisure and pleasure. It demonstrates how the New Scotland could grow in solidarity, hospitality and compassion.