The Big Society and Conservative Politics: Back to the Future or Forward to the Past?

The article critiques Great Britain's Big Society government policy plan, which seeks to emphasize social responsibility and local communities over state control, focusing on a comparison to former Director of the British Conservative party's Research Department James Douglas' idea of a Third Sector in society paralleling the state and the market. The author notes that the Big Society plan differs from Douglas' idea in its emphasis on neighbourhoods and communities, mutual organisations, and state programs to facilitate voluntarism. Other topics include problems with initiating collective action and establishing neighbourhood identities, charities in the Big Society, and political power in Great Britain.