The state we're in: will the pandemic revolutionise the role of government?

The state has been in retreat since the 80s heyday of Reagan and Thatcher but that could change as coronavirus delivers a shock to the system of historic proportions

Ronald Reagan's 1986 wisecrack - "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help" - would not get a lot of laughs today. In much of the world, people are desperate for the government to show up and rise to the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.

Reagan's attitude to government solidified into orthodoxy for more than three decades, spreading abroad - particularly in the UK with the help of Margaret Thatcher - and captured the centre ground of politics in both countries.