Traces the origins & development of the pension idea, from the days of the French Revolution to the troubles of the modern welfare state. As we live longer, employers are closing their pension schemes & claim that public treasuries will not be able to cope with the retirement of the baby-boomers. Blackburn discusses his bold proposal for how to pay for decent pensions for all. Argues that pension funds have been depleted by wasteful promotion & used as gambling chips by ruthless & overpaid top executives. Proposes a public regime of asset-based welfare, drawing on the ideas of John Maynard Keynes & Rudolf Meidner, that could ensure secondary pensions for all & foster a more responsible & humane pattern of economic development.