Discussion Paper
“A Call to Action for the Common Good”
1. What we aim to do
We are a collaborative of independent civil society organisations who feel that in
order to tackle some of the big challenges we face, we need a fresh and forwardlooking story for change.
We recognise that competition and the markets generate immense financial wealth
and prosperity. We see how the state in its many manifestations provides services
and regulations which enrich our lives.
Perhaps less well understood is the role of civil society, in all its diversity: from acts of
individual kindness toward neighbours, to networks of families and friends, to people
acting together in community organisations, to social enterprises, to highly organised
voluntary groups nationwide, to trade unions, to professional associations, to faith
organisations, to businesses helping out in their communities.
In developing our story for change, our starting point is a set of principles derived
from our experience within civil society – principles which generate social well-being,
social wealth and prosperity, and which we believe can be used not just by
individuals, communities and civil society organisations to transform lives but also by
the state and the private sector, for the common good.
We hope that in the coming months we can start to tell a story which will inspire
agencies in all sectors, the general public, and also political parties to discover
practical solutions and take positive actions drawing on these principles.
2. Why this is needed
We face an extraordinary combination of economic, social, and environmental
challenges, from the local to the global. These include, but are not limited to,
economic recession, pressures on public finances, demographic pressures, climate
change, the digital divide, together with a loss of trust in key institutions across every
sector.
We see the consequences. Falling household income. Businesses going to the wall.
Failures of care services for the most vulnerable. Lengthening queues at food banks.
The advance of loan sharks in the poorest neighbourhoods. Demoralised public
servants. Falling levels of voter turnout.
The last time our nation faced challenges of this order was in 1945, in the immediate
aftermath of the Second World War, when the national debt was immense and the
economy in pieces.
But how did we respond at that time? Then, the national consensus was optimistic,
there was a vision of mutual support and interdependency, a willingness to embrace
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positive change. In the face of adversity, came the NHS, universal pensions, child
benefit, national parks, a national theatre.
Today the consensus seems predominantly negative. There seems to be a general
acceptance that nothing can really change, and the best we can hope for is a return
to business as usual, but also a decline: fewer jobs, reduced services, more people
left behind.
It seems our horizons are shrinking.
Worse still, this negative consensus is producing a culture of blame, a tendency to
demonise those on benefits or immigrants, inter-generational tensions, a growing
mood of intolerance and social division.
We are not all in this together. We are divided by economic and social inequality, and
far too many people feel powerless, they feel that they are ‘done to’, that they are
treated as the problem, and not the solution. They find it difficult through traditional
politics to make their voices heard.
So, what can be done about this? We believe that today, just as in 1945, there are
alternatives, that positive change is possible, but will require a profound and bold set
of responses, in which individuals, civil society institutions, businesses, government,
political parties all have a role to play.
We believe civil society has a pivotal role here. It can mobilise transformative forces
within society for the common good. Faith, trust and participation in many national
institutions has been declining sharply, particularly amongst the young, from national
politics, to religion and trade unions. Civil participation remains strong, however, and
we can help to rebuild that sense of engagement with society from the bottom up.
Civil society can also provide principles for generating social well-being that could
help the state and the business sector operate more effectively. The state, local and
central, often turns to business to provide services more efficiently through
competition. However, the banking crisis and tax avoidance raise questions in many
minds about whether market principles driven by short term interests are too
dominant a force in our society. Civil society can help the state and commercial
agencies not just to do the same things more efficiently but to remodel what they do
altogether in order to transform lives.
Towards a story for change for the common good
We want to open a national conversation about the possibility for positive change for
the common good and the principles that drive it, seeking to ‘make hope possible,
rather than despair convincing’.
Like all ambitious endeavours, it is necessary to make a start somewhere, and so we
begin with a few short observations and principles. We recognise that these will need
considerable debate and refinement.
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We don’t have to start from scratch. We recognise that many people are already
working together for the common good and helping to build a better society through
their efforts – we glimpse it all around us, in all sectors. We know of commercially
successful businesses which operate ethically, exemplary examples of public
service, inspiring charities and social enterprises, citizens accomplishing
extraordinary things.
Our story for change needs to explain how we can learn from all these glimpses of
good practice and make them universal, not exceptional. In that way we can build
that better future.
We believe there are certain principles, which are strong within the best of civil
society, and which are capable of being much more widely adopted, which can be
the drivers of positive change:
Mutual-interest, solidarity, and the connected society
There is a strong belief by many in the power of self-interest and competition. But we
also recognise that self interest can lead to mutual interest – involving not just
individuals but also families, friends, neighbours, wider communities. This equally
applies to institutions and businesses. The more we build networks and
relationships, and the move beyond narrow functional or commercial transactions,
the more we produce solidarity and create a potent force for common benefit and
wider prosperity.
Shared responsibility, agency,and ownership
We want to see a culture of passive individual entitlement replaced by a culture of
active common responsibility. But this cannot be imposed, and so it is necessary to
create the conditions whereby indidivuals and organisations develop agency – are
able to take actions on their own terms – individually and in association, to contribute
to the common good. This implies for example a widening of ownership, more user
control, a bigger say for employees, devolution to the local , public services built
around people not bureacracy, and institutions operating on a human scale.
Stewardship and investment in early action for the common good
It is not acceptable that so many live in poverty, it is not acceptable that resources
are so often wasted. We want to see a fresh approach to national stewardship, with
measures to increase social economic and environmental assets, not merely
consume them, with an ethical framework for businesses and the banking sector,
with openness at its heart, with early action intervention to prevent problems arising
in the first place, and with welfare spending designed as an investment for the
common good.
A society operating according to common good principles doesn’t just happen. It has
to be made and continually sustained. It is in the interests of all to undertake that
task, not as a peripheral activity, but rather to weave these principles into their core
purpose and act accordingly.
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3. Next Steps
This discussion paper is only a first step. The next step will be to test our preliminary
ideas with a wide sample of stakeholders – individuals, community groups, faith
bodies, trade unions, business leaders, people working in local or national
government, for example.
Towards the end of this year, we will then assess whether or not there is sufficient
potential for this exercise to proceed. Is there a story to tell which is sufficiently
powerful and persuasive and commands widespread appeal? Can we see the
possibility of translating ideas into policy and practice?
If the answer is yes, then we would seek to build a vibrant and credible campaign to
generate public momentum, to encourage institutions across all sectors, and the
political parties, to embrace the possibility of change and take practical steps
accordingly.
Lucy de Groot
CSV
July 2013
On behalf of a working group including:
Steve Wyler
Caroline Slocock
Joe Irvin
Charles Wookey
Oonagh Aitken
Duncan Tree
Locality
Civil Exchange
NAVCA
Catholic Bishops’ Conference, England & Wales
CSV
CSV
Informed by the participants at the St George’s House Windsor event on “Civil Society and
Austerity”
For further information please contact:
Duncan Tree, Head of Policy, CSV dtree@csv.org.uk
Diana Browne, CE Office, CSV dbrowne@csv.org.uk (020 7643 1360)
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