Researchers in the field of social protection are often confronted with the argument that social protection is a luxury that only rich nations can afford. But according to Simon Szreter, professor of history and public policy at the University of Cambridge, social security played a key role in driving the world's first case of economic development – the economic rise of England from 1600-1800. 

Simon's arguments are presented in this cartoon, which was produced by Optix (www.optix.ae), an international full-service creative agency, and written and directed by Simon's former student and teaching assistant, Benjamin Choo.