What is the Big Society?

Since the launch of the Tory manifesto back in April, The Big Society has never left the media but for a few days. Mostly because many people can not quite understand and grasp its concept, or because they feel it does not conveniently translate into perfectly laid out policies – that will solve all which needs resolution in our country today.

And since I am feeling generous I though it’s nice to end this week with my understanding of it.

To me, the Big Society has little to do with size and nothing to do with socialism – but everything to do with individuals giving back, owning and becoming a vital, an integral part of their communities and what goes around in them, from schooling to crime and planning applications. Simples!

It is what most of us do all the time any way.

Back in Sudan, my great grandmother opened her home to widowed women back in the early 1900 before there was a social security to look after them; she was giving back to her community in her own way. My mother used to give our good cloth, which didn’t fit, to a cloth bank that took them to the Southern provinces, during the war. My dad paid for many bright students to go to university because he could. All these are giving examples. But there are other example like sitting on the board of hospitals, schools, community developments and planning committees.

Yes, none of these are policies passed and legislated by government but they are the needs and wishes of communities implemented by that community.

The problem as I see it, of course besides the left trying to make light of the whole concept and turn it into a party political issue, is that in the past few years Britons became too dependant on government telling them what to do and doing everything for them, and the culture of why bother, which is extremely unBritish to say the least and short sighted long term.

To understand The Big Society, we must first understand that to become a vital and integral part and taking pride in our community should neither be a personal burden nor a substitute for government. It is simply doing what most people for generations have done via charities, community organizing and local interested groups. It is being proud of ones surroundings and becoming invested in it. It can take one hour a week of bookkeeping for a charity, going for a walking with an elderly neighbor, or a three hour quarterly meeting as a trustee or a governor. It can be anything from turning an old building into a community center to recommendation for your local authority on the next big project.

The Big Society is not some outdated elitist concept or cries form a financially limited government that needs its citizens to do the job for them. It is a direct connection between the individuals and the state where the state is the servant and the individual is the master.