Beyond the Invisible Hand: How Science can Redress Policy Induced Inequalities?

Inequalities within and across countries have reached unsustainable levels, eroded trust and fuelled polarisation. At the same time, climate breakdown and rapid technological change reveal the limits of a narrow, economics-driven model of progress. Echoing Dr. Tarlok Singh's call for a holistic understanding of the human condition, this lecture argues that current economic frameworks fail to reflect people's lived realities.

Drawing on insights from the social and human sciences, as well as my work with the OECD's NAEC initiative and UNESCO's MOST Programme, it calls for an epistemic shift—from viewing individuals as isolated rational actors to recognising societies as living systems embedded in nature and shaped by culture, values, and power.

Building on Singh's emphasis on human dignity, the lecture highlights how choices in AI and digital governance could deepen inequality and environmental stress unless grounded in ethical and humanistic principles. Strengthening the social sciences, restoring evidence-based policymaking, and integrating equality and sustainability into decisions beyond GDP are essential to rebuilding the science–policy nexus.