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 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.