Throughout history, epidemics have repeatedly posed a single, provocative question: ‘Organise or die – what will you do?’ This book explores how different societies have answered. In ten concise, good-humoured chapters, the philosopher Anders Fogh Jensen tells the story of epidemics and control from the 13th century to the present. The book places the coronavirus pandemic into a historical perspective. It illuminates a range of strategies used to combat epidemics and the thinking behind them, and shows how epidemics inspire and act as catalysts for the brave new normal.

Anders Fogh Jensen (born 1973) is a Danish philosopher with a Diplomé d’Études Approfondies from the Sorbonne and a PhD from the University of Copenhagen. He is also a playwright, public speaker, author and the originator of concepts such as ‘the project society’ and ‘pseudowork’ to describe the society of today. A frequent commentator on matters philosophical on the radio, on TV and in newspapers, Anders has written several books, some of which have been translated into English, among these The Project Society (2012) and Pseudowork (2021). His plays include De danser alene (They Dance Alone), about the individual and life in the project society. Anders has also lectured at universities in Denmark for many years.