Dr Carney observes that the Covid pandemic has forced states to confront how we value health, wealth and opportunity. During the first few months of the crisis, most states chose to value human life more than the economic wellbeing of the nation state. But if that seems to be changing, how do we assess value in this sense?

Carney elucidates surprising differences in the financial value put on a human life in different nations – and goes on to argue that this reductionist approach fails to take into account deeper thinking about the worth of human existence. A version for television of the programme first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday 16 December. Show less