Particularisme philanthropique vs universalité de l’État-providence : la « Big Society » peut-elle remplacer le gouvernement ?

Since the 1970s and the introduction of a neoliberal economic model, British governments, whether Conservative or Labour, have attempted to roll back the state, particularly as far as social policy is concerned. The favoured solution has been to give power back to civil society based on the assumpti...

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Main Author: Raphaële Espiet-Kilty
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centre de Recherche et d'Etudes en Civilisation Britannique 2017-07-01
Series:Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/1428
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author Raphaële Espiet-Kilty
author_facet Raphaële Espiet-Kilty
author_sort Raphaële Espiet-Kilty
collection DOAJ
description Since the 1970s and the introduction of a neoliberal economic model, British governments, whether Conservative or Labour, have attempted to roll back the state, particularly as far as social policy is concerned. The favoured solution has been to give power back to civil society based on the assumption that grassroots society is better able to solve the problems that affect it. The reasoning is clearly that philanthropy can cure Britain’s ailing society whereas welfare policies cannot. In addition to the issue of the changing relation between civil society and the state, another related issue needs to be considered: that of the power of civil society. Imagined? Idealised? Effective? Can civil society replace the welfare state? To answer these questions, one needs to consider who the volunteers are and what causes they commit themselves to, focussing on 2010-2015, a period during which the coalition government urged civil society or the Big Society to re-build itself to fill the gaps left by the dismantling of the welfare state accelerated by austerity-driven reductions in public funds.
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spelling doaj-art-45eab89b85d54af7abc447fb21e1367f2025-08-20T02:37:40ZengCentre de Recherche et d'Etudes en Civilisation BritanniqueRevue Française de Civilisation Britannique0248-90152429-43732017-07-0122310.4000/rfcb.1428Particularisme philanthropique vs universalité de l’État-providence : la « Big Society » peut-elle remplacer le gouvernement ?Raphaële Espiet-KiltySince the 1970s and the introduction of a neoliberal economic model, British governments, whether Conservative or Labour, have attempted to roll back the state, particularly as far as social policy is concerned. The favoured solution has been to give power back to civil society based on the assumption that grassroots society is better able to solve the problems that affect it. The reasoning is clearly that philanthropy can cure Britain’s ailing society whereas welfare policies cannot. In addition to the issue of the changing relation between civil society and the state, another related issue needs to be considered: that of the power of civil society. Imagined? Idealised? Effective? Can civil society replace the welfare state? To answer these questions, one needs to consider who the volunteers are and what causes they commit themselves to, focussing on 2010-2015, a period during which the coalition government urged civil society or the Big Society to re-build itself to fill the gaps left by the dismantling of the welfare state accelerated by austerity-driven reductions in public funds.https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/1428Big Societycivil societyvolunteeringcoalition government.
spellingShingle Raphaële Espiet-Kilty
Particularisme philanthropique vs universalité de l’État-providence : la « Big Society » peut-elle remplacer le gouvernement ?
Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique
Big Society
civil society
volunteering
coalition government.
title Particularisme philanthropique vs universalité de l’État-providence : la « Big Society » peut-elle remplacer le gouvernement ?
title_full Particularisme philanthropique vs universalité de l’État-providence : la « Big Society » peut-elle remplacer le gouvernement ?
title_fullStr Particularisme philanthropique vs universalité de l’État-providence : la « Big Society » peut-elle remplacer le gouvernement ?
title_full_unstemmed Particularisme philanthropique vs universalité de l’État-providence : la « Big Society » peut-elle remplacer le gouvernement ?
title_short Particularisme philanthropique vs universalité de l’État-providence : la « Big Society » peut-elle remplacer le gouvernement ?
title_sort particularisme philanthropique vs universalite de l etat providence la big society peut elle remplacer le gouvernement
topic Big Society
civil society
volunteering
coalition government.
url https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/1428
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