In May 2010, Britain's new Coalition government embarked on its journey to the Big Society. But how did we reach this point? Politicians and commentators have long bemoaned the supposed decline of civic life, fretting about its health and its future. In fact, the real story of voluntarism over the last hundred years has not been decline, but constant evolution and change. Whether we use the terms charity, philanthropy, civil society, non-governmental organisations, the third sector or the Big Society, voluntary endeavour is one of the most vibrant and dynamic areas of British public life. The senior, established and exciting new scholars featured in this collection show how the voluntary sector's role in society, and its relationship with the state, has constantly adapted to its surroundings. They have raised new agendas, tackled old problems in new ways, acted as alternatives to statutory provision and as catalysts for further government action. Voluntary groups have emerged out of citizens' concerns, independent of government and yet willing to work with politicians of all persuasions. By surveying the sheer extent and diversity of the sector since the start of the First World War, this volume demonstrates that voluntarism not only continues to thrive, but is also far larger than any political agenda that may be imposed upon it.

The Ages of Voluntarism: How We Got to the Big Society (British Academy Original Paperbacks)

Business & Money

McKay, James

Hilton, Matthew

Job Hunting & Careers

British Academy

The Politics of Expertise offers a challenging new interpretation of politics in contemporary Britain, through an examination of non-governmental organisations. Using specific case studies of the homelessness, environment, and international aid and development sectors, it demonstrates how politics and political activism has changed over the last half century. NGOs have contributed enormously to a professionalization and a privatization of politics, emerging as a new form of expert knowledge and political participation. They have been led by a new breed of non-party politician, working in collaboration and in competition with government. Skilful navigators of the modern technocratic state, they have brought expertise to expertise and, in so doing, have changed the nature of grassroots activism. As affluent citizens have felt marginalised by the increasingly complex nature of many policy solutions, they have made the rational calculation to support NGOs, the professionalism and resources of which make them better able to tackle complex problems. Yet in doing so, support rather than participation becomes the more appropriate way to describe the relationship of the public to NGOs. As voter turnout has declined, membership and trust in NGOs has increased. But NGOs are very different types of organisations from the classic democratic institutions of political parties and the labour movement. They maintain different and varied relationships with the publics they seek to represent. Attracting mass support has provided them with the resources and the legitimacy to speak to power on a bewildering range of issues, yet perhaps the ultimate victors in this new form of politics are the NGOs themselves.

The Politics of Expertise: How NGOs Shaped Modern Britain

History

Crowson, Nicholas

Mouhot, Jean-Francois

Europe

Oxford University Press

Consumerism in Twentieth-Century Britain: The Search for a Historical Movement

The first comprehensive history of consumerism as an organized social and political movement, this book explores consumer movements, ideologies and organizations in twentieth-century Britain. It explores the history of organizations such as the Co-operative movement and the Consumers' Association and analyzes the role of the National Consumer Council, the Office of Fair Trading, and international consumer organizations as well as the growth of ethical consumerism. A major contribution to the topic of the role of consumption in modern society, it will be essential reading for historians of twentieth-century Britain.

Economics

Cambridge University Press

This book is a concise history of smoking in British popular culture from the early 19th century to the present day. It explores the culture of the pipe and the cigar in the 19th century, the role of the cigarette in the mass market economy of the early 20th century, and the politics of smoking and health since the 1950s. Combining a wide range of historical sources with examples drawn from film and popular literature, it provides a comprehensive social, cultural, and economic history of smoking.

Smoking in British Popular Culture 1800-2000: Perfect Pleasures (Studies in Popular Culture)

Manchester University Press

A concise history of smoking in British popular culture from the early nineteenth century to the present day.. Provides the historical backdrop to the current debates about the politics of tobacco and health, demonstrating that both pro- and anti-smokers have consistently failed to understand the position of smoking within popular culture.. Important themes explored include: the importance of consumption to constructions of masculinity and femininity, the role of the state in the official regulation of the ‘minor vices’, the morality of consumption and the position of scientific knowledge within popular culture.. Traces the production, promotion and consumption of tobacco as well as outlining the arguments that have variously opposed this ever-controversial drug.. Genuinely interdisciplinary, combining elements of social, cultural and economic history whilst contributing to debates in sociology and cultural studies, the anthropology of material culture, design history, medical history and public health policy.

Smoking in British popular culture 1800–2000 (Studies in Popular Culture)

The history of consumerism is about much more than just shopping. Ever since the eighteenth century, citizen-consumers have protested against the abuses of the market by boycotting products and promoting fair instead of free trade. In recent decades, consumer activism has responded to the challenges of affluence by helping to guide consumers through an increasingly complex and alien marketplace. In doing so, it has challenged the very meaning of consumer society and tackled some of the key economic, social, and political issues associated with the era of globalization.
In Prosperity for All, the first international history of consumer activism, Matthew Hilton shows that modern consumer advocacy reached the peak of its influence in the decades after World War II. Growing out of the product-testing activities of Consumer Reports and its international counterparts (including Which? in the United Kingdom, Que Choisir in France, and Test in Germany), consumerism evolved into a truly global social movement. Consumer unions, NGOs, and individual activists like Ralph Nader emerged in countries around the world―including developing countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America―concerned with creating a more equitable marketplace and articulating a politics of consumption that addressed the needs of both individuals and society as a whole. Consumer activists achieved many victories, from making cars safer to highlighting the dangers of using baby formula instead of breast milk in countries with no access to clean water.
The 1980s saw a reversal in the consumer movement's fortunes, thanks in large part to the rise of an antiregulatory agenda both in the United States and internationally. In the process, the definition of consumerism changed, focusing more on choice than on access. As Hilton shows, this change reflects more broadly on the dilemmas we all face as consumers: Do we want more stuff and more prosperity for ourselves, or do we want others less fortunate to be able to enjoy the same opportunities and standard of living that we do? Prosperity for All makes clear that by abandoning a more idealistic vision for consumer society we reduce consumers to little more than shoppers, and we deny the vast majority of the world's population the fruits of affluence.

Prosperity for All: Consumer Activism in an Era of Globalization

Cornell University Press

The history of consumerism is about much more than just shopping. Ever since the eighteenth century, citizen-consumers have protested against the abuses of the market by boycotting products and promoting fair instead of free trade. In recent decades, consumer activism has responded to the challenges of affluence by helping to guide consumers through an increasingly complex and alien marketplace. In doing so, it has challenged the very meaning of consumer society and tackled some of the key economic, social, and political issues associated with the era of globalization.
In Prosperity for All, the first international history of consumer activism, Matthew Hilton shows that modern consumer advocacy reached the peak of its influence in the decades after World War II. Growing out of the product-testing activities of Consumer Reports and its international counterparts (including Which? in the United Kingdom, Que Choisir in France, and Test in Germany), consumerism evolved into a truly global social movement. Consumer unions, NGOs, and individual activists like Ralph Nader emerged in countries around the world―including developing countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America―concerned with creating a more equitable marketplace and articulating a politics of consumption that addressed the needs of both individuals and society as a whole. Consumer activists achieved many victories, from making cars safer to highlighting the dangers of using baby formula instead of breast milk in countries with no access to clean water.
The 1980s saw a reversal in the consumer movement's fortunes, thanks in large part to the rise of an antiregulatory agenda both in the United States and internationally. In the process, the definition of consumerism changed, focusing more on choice than on access. As Hilton shows, this change reflects more broadly on the dilemmas we all face as consumers: Do we want more stuff and more prosperity for ourselves, or do we want others less fortunate to be able to enjoy the same opportunities and standard of living that we do? Prosperity for All makes clear that by abandoning a more idealistic vision for consumer society we reduce consumers to little more than shoppers, and we deny the vast majority of the world's population the fruits of affluence.

Au nom du consommateur

Chatriot, Alain

Chessel, Marie-Emmanuelle

World

LA DECOUVERTE

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hilton, Matthew. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hilton, Matthew

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hilton, Matthew. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Ages of Voluntarism: How We Got to the Big Society (British Academy Original Paperbacks)

The Politics of Expertise: How NGOs Shaped Modern Britain

Consumerism in Twentieth-Century Britain: The Search for a Historical Movement

Consumerism in Twentieth-Century Britain: The Search for a Historical Movement

Smoking in British Popular Culture 1800-2000: Perfect Pleasures (Studies in Popular Culture)

Smoking in British popular culture 1800–2000 (Studies in Popular Culture)

Prosperity for All: Consumer Activism in an Era of Globalization

Prosperity for All: Consumer Activism in an Era of Globalization

Au nom du consommateur