ABSTRACT
In the early 1980s, a sharp rise in unemployment figures placed the welfare state under pressure. In guaranteeing income, benefits and rights, the need for creating and searching for jobs was undervalued. For two decades, privatisation of the social domain has been an ongoing debate in the European Union as well as in other parts of the world. The debate has placed much pressure on privatising social services in line with other services of general interest, like transport and energy. Localisation is the second pillar employed to lessen the state burden in the social domain. Too much of social work is steered at a level that is too distant from its context; herein lies the perceived problem. Localisation should be perceived as a new attempt to revive neighbourhoods, local services and community feelings of safety, trust and belonging. Promoting civil society requires a focus on mutual support and community in place of the emphasis on rights and a service-delivering state.
