Description
Book SynopsisThis book provides the historical background to the rise of the Big Society. Voluntarism has evolved over the last hundred years to adapt to changing circumstances, drawing up new agendas, tackling old problems, and acting as an alternative to state provision and as a catalyst for further government action.
Trade ReviewEntirely sensible, engaging and robust, The Ages of Voluntarism is recommended to anyone interested in the history and politics of volunatrism, doubly so for policy makers concerned with voluntary action. * Anjelica Finnegan, Political Studies Review Vol. 11 *
The Ages of Voluntarism is part of an important and growing literature, reminding historians of the continuing existence and relevance of voluntary action in a space somewhere in between histories of the state, society and culture. * Charlotte Clements, History *
fascinating collection of essays ... a very welcome contribution to the suprisingly small number of books on the history of voluntarism. And if it encourages others to explore a fascinating and little known aspect of British history, so much the better. * Simon Fowler, Business History *
[Provides] strong evidence for the continuing vibrancy, dynamism, and diversity of the voluntary sector in twentieth-century Britain and should prove useful not just to historians of twentieth-century British social and political life, but also to social and political scientists, as well as policymakers. * Oliver Blaiklock, Twentieth Century British History *
Table of Contents1. The Ages of Voluntarism: an Introduction ; 2. Voluntarism and the Impact of the First World War ; 3. Associational Voluntarism in Interwar Britain ; 4. Labour, Charity and Voluntary Action: the Myth of Hostility ; 5. Civil Society, Class and Locality: Tenant Groups in Post-War Britain ; 6. Professionalisationk New Social Movements and Voluntary Action in the 1960s and 1970s ; 7. Faith, Charity and Citizenship: Christianity, Volunarism and the State in the 1980s ; 8. Voluntary Action, New Labour and the 'Third Sector'
