Spiritual Life: Big Society

This is my Spiritual Life column about the Big Society which was published in yesterday's Ilford Recorder:

Recently I attended a conference on what the Big Society might mean for the Church, where I heard Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham and Rainham, state that he is a big fan of the Big Society. As the Big Society is viewed as David Cameron’s big idea this was a surprising statement for a Labour MP to make, so what were some of the factors that led to this position?

He began with his Irish Catholic, working class, Labour background, which gave him a communitarian disposition. Communitarianism is about balancing individual rights with the interests of the community as a whole and it developed, in the twentieth century, from the Catholic Workers Movement. As a result, the Big Society is not new and has a significant Catholic heritage on which we can draw.

Next, was the example that the Church has provided in his constituency during a period of considerable change. There, the Church has played a central role by holding the line in the tensions of change; tensions which saw far-right councillors elected and then defeated in subsequent local elections. The Church in this situation acted as a just institution enabling the release of virtue and supporting human flourishing.

These thoughts about the Big Society provide a viable alternative to the selfishness inherent in our market-led consumerism and the over-heavy control of the ‘nanny’ state. They suggest that there is a different way of living and being socially; that life is more than earning and spending.

That certainly doesn’t mean that all is well now. Where the axe of cuts is currently falling makes the Big Society less likely. People in our community are struggling because of the withdrawal of 'safety nets'; the least well off are paying the price for the recession.

It doesn’t have to be like that, however. Successful community campaigns in this borough show that people of all faiths and none care deeply about what happens to this borough and the likely effects of cuts in Council services. Jon Cruddas quoted Oscar Romero who said, "Aspire not to have more but to be more." Maybe if we all thought like that, the Big Society could become the cornerstone of a new politics and the new centre ground.

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Eddie and the Hot Rods - Do Anything You Wanna Do.