With waged employment becoming increasingly precarious, social protection is the phrase that we use to describe what states can do to seek to ensure that human capabilities continue to flourish. Social protection has a long history, but has changed in significant ways over the past 20 years, in ways that will shape the future course of the lives of many across the course of this century.

Originating in late 19th century Germany, social protection spread rapidly in the early 20th century in the developed countries.