For a non-negligible chunk of the world’s population, the coronavirus pandemic probably represents the single biggest disruption in daily life since the Second World War. It should come as no surprise, then, that COVID-19 appears to have yielded a significant shift in public attitudes, both toward the economy and the role of the state. And though it offers only a partial picture, a new analysis from the Pew Research Center strongly suggests the ground in the post-pandemic era may be fertile for a transformative political program.

The just-published study, conducted among thousands of adults across four countries in late 2020, identifies a general appetite for significant political and economic reform — particularly when it comes to public goods and the role of the state. “Across the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom,” Pew’s researchers write, “significant shares believe their economic system needs either major changes or a complete overhaul.” This desire was by far the strongest in France, where some 70 percent favored one or the other — though in the other three countries studied, roughly half supported either major changes or a complete overhaul.

“Change” and “overhaul,” of course, are ultimately subjective frames, which is why other questions posed in Pew’s analysis are particularly instructive. The survey gauged support for five hypothetical actions by states, with publics in all four countries generally voicing a high level of approval for each. Among all five, the relatively tame idea of government-sponsored job and skills training for workers was most often cited by respondents as “very important” for their government to pursue.