In his magisterial analysis of Epidemics and Society throughout history, Frank Snowden writes that of all the issues raised by pandemics, ‘the most important is preparedness’.1¹ The articles in this Special Issue2² show how Covid-19 found Britain dangerously unprepared: its society divided and fragmented, and its systems of governance verging on the dysfunctional. Small government and laissez-faire were, to begin with, the order of the day, as they had been for decades previously.3³ Policy was outsourced to a private consultancy charged with controlling the population through behavioural ‘nudges’.4⁴ Significant obstacles were placed on access by worker representatives to collective voice, whether in the workplace or in Parliament.5⁵

中文翻译：

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Covid-19，《劳动法》与社会状态的更新

在他的权威性分析流行病与社会纵观历史，弗兰克·斯诺登写的所有问题，所提出的流行病，“最重要的是preparedness'.1 ¹在这个特殊的Issue2的文章²显示Covid-19是如何发现英国危险措手不及：它的社会分裂和支离破碎，其治理体系也趋于失灵。小政府，放任了，有开始，当天的订单，因为他们几十年来一直previously.3 ³政策外包给负责控制通过行为“nudges'.4人口的私人顾问⁴显著的障碍被放置在由工人代表集体语音接入，无论是在工作场所或在Parliament.5 ⁵