1,000 years of historical context for Social Security

The Social Security Administration has a fascinating brief history of the societal and political developments that led eventually to the enactment of America's Social Security program in 1935. Although it was enacted during The Great Depression, it wasn't primarily a countercyclical device but was the culmination of the evolution of collective economic security institutions starting with guilds in the Middle Ages. Thanks to Mark Thoma for bringing this to my attention.