Introduction: Social policy and social protection

Social policy serves to define a society, and the absence of social protection of its weakest members constitutes a social failure. Though widespread, that failure is not inevitable. Certainly, globalization, the informalization of work and poverty present a powerful challenge to social policy. Yet, as Amartya Sen argues in this issue, well-deliberated action can transform a dreaded anticipation into a constructive reality: "The increasingly globalized world economy calls for a similarly globalized approach to basic ethics and political and social procedures." Surprisingly, many seemingly intractable problems and perceived conflicts are more easily resolved when the approach is universal.