Retrieving the Big Society presents a collection of essays that challenge the view of Britain’s Big Society as a political gimmick and recognise it as an alternative to the central state in social and economic governance.

• Offers an original and critical take on the idea of the Big Society
• Attempts to make sense of the Big Society by placing in the context of the history of localism, mutualism, and voluntarism
• Features contributions by experts on British politics and political theory

Jason Edwards is Lecturer in Politics at Birkbeck, University of London. Dr. Edwards is also Director of the B.A. Programme in Politics and Government, Co-Director of Birkbeck Centre for the Study of British Politics and Public Life, and has written widely on the history of political thought, contemporary political theory, and British politics.