Who'd win a fight between a Fabian and a social entrepreneur?
1:03pm Wednesday, 6th September 2006
The public service battle lines are being drawn... by Charles Clarke of all people. Apparently the real battle in the Labour party is between 'traditional Fabians' and 'social entrepreneurs'. The former still believe the central state is the best way of securing equity and improving lives. The latter think that local freedom and engagement are the better route.
Clarke was obviously playing politics with his lecture yesterday - the example he gives of Fabian reform is the working families tax credit. In other words: Brown's welfarism terribly old fashioned, Blair's (or at least New Labour's) foundation hospitals terribly modern.
I'm not sure I buy that distinction - Brown can certainly come across as an old-fashioned centralist, but that doesn't make Blair a social entrepreneur of any substance. New Labour's obsession with service markets isn't about social entrepreneurship, mobilising local energy or increasing democracy, but about consumer choice. And that's an option Clarke's been very quiet about.
But I do think there's a new agenda to be grasped out there - one that's about participation and democracy in local service provision and in local communities themselves. It's about using public services and money as a way of supporting and building society's capacity to look after itself with the help of professionals.
The problem is that we've not heard much from Labour recently about participative reform and democracy. The only real champion of this approach, worryingly for most progressives, is David Cameron.
Clarke was obviously playing politics with his lecture yesterday - the example he gives of Fabian reform is the working families tax credit. In other words: Brown's welfarism terribly old fashioned, Blair's (or at least New Labour's) foundation hospitals terribly modern.
I'm not sure I buy that distinction - Brown can certainly come across as an old-fashioned centralist, but that doesn't make Blair a social entrepreneur of any substance. New Labour's obsession with service markets isn't about social entrepreneurship, mobilising local energy or increasing democracy, but about consumer choice. And that's an option Clarke's been very quiet about.
But I do think there's a new agenda to be grasped out there - one that's about participation and democracy in local service provision and in local communities themselves. It's about using public services and money as a way of supporting and building society's capacity to look after itself with the help of professionals.
The problem is that we've not heard much from Labour recently about participative reform and democracy. The only real champion of this approach, worryingly for most progressives, is David Cameron.
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Also worth noting perhaps, is Gordon Brown's consistent support for the School for Social Entrepreneurs (in Fife, specifically, and the UK generally), which is all about local freedom and engagement; doesn't really seem to fit the argument made here?
Social entrepreneurship has the potential to move beyond "engagement" and "consultation" to a true devolving of power (and money) to community-shaped, community-led organisations: robust, effective, sustainable, bottom-up solutions. Investing in supporting the individuals leading this change, with personal and organisational development, is a key part in making this happen.
I would only add that I would wonder how entrepreneurial, socially or otherwise, a government can be. You are right to point out that the public service delivery agenda is only partially connected to social entrepreneurship. After all, can you procure or commission entrepreneurial or innovative solutions to unmet needs?
Deep stuff...the fact is that the Fabians have produced some good ideas. Their 'Lifechances' report on 'Narrowing the Gap' is worth reading. It tackles the significance of inequality head-on.
But is the Fabian approach enough? I joined the pressure-group Compass because it offered a more radical, yet modern approach to progressive politics. They've published some good booklets and 'thinkpieces'. In about three years they've grown to about 2000 members. Like Demos (Northern Lights) they are interested in the example of the Nordic countries.
Who would win a fight between a social-entrepreneur and a Compass-ite? Log on to www.compassonline.og.uk and judge for yourself!