Socrates the Greek philosopher was accused of refusing to recognise the States' Gods' and corrupting young people, he was tried by a crowd of about five hundred and found guilty, sentenced to death he drank hemlock and when he could no longer stand lay down and told one of his disciples not to forget that he owed a debt of one cockerel to Asclepius and asked that the debt be repaid.
Can we afford a big society?
Should we be looking for a slightly smaller, economy version of the big society?
Maybe we could bag ourselves a two for one, bargain, big society which we could share with a neighbouring society.
Recently the Archbishop commented that for many people the big society is just a cover for cuts. The more work we do voluntarily the less there is for the Government to pay for and that is right of course.
But the trouble with big ideas and big policies as Socrates discovered they have to be answered for and evenboth the big debts and the small debts repaid.
But whilst voluntary work is cost effective it nevertheless comes with a cost.
The organisation that I worked for was one of the biggest sources of volunteering in the 1950's but in order that the organisation could be effective in its recruitment and support of its volunteers, the organisation had to be maintained, at first in London and then, in order to cut costs, outside London.
This organisation was typical and whether the organisation is a cluster of franchised branches or whether it is centrally organised there will be an element of core costs and overheads to be found to recruit, manage, monitor and maintain the organisation and its volunteer workforce.
Despite the positive noises stage left, (or should that be right?) in fact the current headlines suggest that the economy is still suffering from the hangover of the credit crunch and even if bankers are now calling for less regulation, the evidence is clear, low interest rates, inflation, spending cuts, deeper and fiercer than we have ever seen, tax increases and a fall in public support mean that as people are forced back on their own means and resources the chances of people feeling able to continue to reach out voluntarily will in fact reduce
Greece used to be a very big society with philosophers at the helm sharing big ideas and discovering things like the lever and displacement.
Greece was of course the crucible of democracy and the cities of Greece, the Polis gave meaning to the idea of politics as the governance of the life of the city.
Now Greece is in trouble, in debt and possibly about to be out of the Euro and great are the debates about which is better, to stay in the Euro or go back to the Drachma?
But one thing is certain, Greece, whilst it is a big society, can no longer afford the cost of being a big society so it needs to reorganise its finances to allow it to raise and spend the necessary funds to allow the society to prosper both financially and socially, for governements and people to get back to work, hospitals to be open and the police to ensure the security of the polis.
The debts have arisen because the Greek government spent more than it received in and through taxation and this is of course essentially true of all governments, the only money they can spend is the money they raise so if the big society is to happen either it will have to be paid for through taxes or there will be a need for individuals to contribute some degree of sweat equity.
So here's a thought, in the middle of all the storming and forming that will go into developing the big society how about individuals who volunteer their time and effort receiving some kind of encouragement in the form of tax credits?
I'm sure that Asclepius' sadness at the death of Socrates was eased a little with the return of his cockerel.....
Can we afford a big society?
Should we be looking for a slightly smaller, economy version of the big society?
Maybe we could bag ourselves a two for one, bargain, big society which we could share with a neighbouring society.
Recently the Archbishop commented that for many people the big society is just a cover for cuts. The more work we do voluntarily the less there is for the Government to pay for and that is right of course.
But the trouble with big ideas and big policies as Socrates discovered they have to be answered for and evenboth the big debts and the small debts repaid.
But whilst voluntary work is cost effective it nevertheless comes with a cost.
The organisation that I worked for was one of the biggest sources of volunteering in the 1950's but in order that the organisation could be effective in its recruitment and support of its volunteers, the organisation had to be maintained, at first in London and then, in order to cut costs, outside London.
This organisation was typical and whether the organisation is a cluster of franchised branches or whether it is centrally organised there will be an element of core costs and overheads to be found to recruit, manage, monitor and maintain the organisation and its volunteer workforce.
Despite the positive noises stage left, (or should that be right?) in fact the current headlines suggest that the economy is still suffering from the hangover of the credit crunch and even if bankers are now calling for less regulation, the evidence is clear, low interest rates, inflation, spending cuts, deeper and fiercer than we have ever seen, tax increases and a fall in public support mean that as people are forced back on their own means and resources the chances of people feeling able to continue to reach out voluntarily will in fact reduce
Greece used to be a very big society with philosophers at the helm sharing big ideas and discovering things like the lever and displacement.
Greece was of course the crucible of democracy and the cities of Greece, the Polis gave meaning to the idea of politics as the governance of the life of the city.
Now Greece is in trouble, in debt and possibly about to be out of the Euro and great are the debates about which is better, to stay in the Euro or go back to the Drachma?
But one thing is certain, Greece, whilst it is a big society, can no longer afford the cost of being a big society so it needs to reorganise its finances to allow it to raise and spend the necessary funds to allow the society to prosper both financially and socially, for governements and people to get back to work, hospitals to be open and the police to ensure the security of the polis.
The debts have arisen because the Greek government spent more than it received in and through taxation and this is of course essentially true of all governments, the only money they can spend is the money they raise so if the big society is to happen either it will have to be paid for through taxes or there will be a need for individuals to contribute some degree of sweat equity.
So here's a thought, in the middle of all the storming and forming that will go into developing the big society how about individuals who volunteer their time and effort receiving some kind of encouragement in the form of tax credits?
I'm sure that Asclepius' sadness at the death of Socrates was eased a little with the return of his cockerel.....
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