ABSTRACT
Community development has always grappled with its relationship with the state. Indeed, a seminal publication in 1979 by the London Edinburgh Weekend Return Group asked whether and how community workers could be “in and against the state”. But with the rise of neoliberalism and the advance of the market, these questions may no longer be so relevant. Some might argue that community development’s orientation towards the state is itself outdated. This chapter therefore focuses on the UK to ask how the nature of the relationship has changed over the past 40 years and how community development can respond.
