Network Logic - Index of
Network Logic - Index of
Network Logic - Index of
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11. Developing the wellconnected<br />
community<br />
Alison Gilchrist<br />
Over the recent past, society has become both more informal and<br />
more complex. We prefer to live without status and hierarchy,<br />
abandoning bureaucratic rules and conventions in favour <strong>of</strong> more<br />
fluid notions <strong>of</strong> identity, and becoming more flexible about how, and<br />
by whom, decisions are made.<br />
These trends are recognised in many current debates about<br />
‘community’. Nonetheless, government policies to promote stronger<br />
communities and active citizenship have tended to emphasise the<br />
role <strong>of</strong> individuals within formal structures, and, until recently,<br />
have overlooked the significance <strong>of</strong> informal activities within<br />
community settings. The related concepts <strong>of</strong> ‘community’ and<br />
‘networks’ must be better understood by policy-makers if they are to<br />
avoid the risk <strong>of</strong> masking common experiences <strong>of</strong> inequality and<br />
discrimination, based on enduring power imbalances and social<br />
exclusion.<br />
Government’s love affair with ‘community’<br />
Strategies for public participation in decision-making date back<br />
several decades. The Labour government has simply accelerated this<br />
trend with its current emphasis on subsidiarity and partnership<br />
working based on community involvement and leadership. 1 Policy<br />
debates have <strong>of</strong>ten been premised on an image <strong>of</strong> community as a<br />
homogenous and harmonious dimension <strong>of</strong> social life, securely<br />
Demos 145