ABSTRACT
The argument for a retrenchment of the state and a corresponding greater role for civil society in the delivery of state education and social welfare depends upon a belief in the power and willingness of communities to respond. What is not clear, however, is how ‘community’ is understood. This chapter considers various models of community referred to in the Conservative construct of localism and the Big Society. A number of models of community were indicated in the House of Commons Select Committee on Public Administration (PASC, 2011) which suggest how community in the Big Society is envisioned and throw some light on the rationale for community enlistment into the project.
