BIG SOCIETY ..... BIG CON.

David Cameron's catch-phrase of the 'Big Society' is again in the news and the main talking points seem to be simple - what on earth does it mean and what is it meant to achieve ?

In truth, I don't think anyone outside of the political elite can answer either question, as the whole idea is a political construct designed to divert attention from other things. However, in my view, a) the phrase, itself, is so vague as to be meaningless and b) it's about encouraging ordinary people to add to their already busy and stressed lives by taking on a variety of tasks previously undertaken by Government.

Years ago, when there was very little in the way of social support from the State, most local services were run by local people; philanthropists gave money to local causes and people helped themselves and each other as needs arose. Over a period of time, the Government took on more and more of these responsibilities and raised ever-increasing amounts of tax to pay for them, until we eventualy arrived at the position today. Now, the Government, in its desperate search for savings, has decided to try to return to the situation of decades ago but without returning any of the resources that it has stolen from its citizens in the intervening period. At the same time it is taking measures that will cost many thousands of people their livelihoods, and will increase the workload on others quite dramatically.

The basic idea is a good one; Government should not be involved in our lives in the intrusive and all-invasive manner that it has in recent years, but the quid pro quo has to be that money, and a lot of it, is handed back to the people through reduced taxation. The problem that arises is that the Government is already so over-committed financially that it can't give any money back, in fact it needs more, even with all the cuts.

Thanks to Governments of the last 60 or more years, and particularly thanks to 13 years of Labour Government from 1997, the financial state of our country is dire. We have been living so far beyond our resources for so long that the only answer is a massive retrenchment, the result of which will be that the majority of us are going to experience a huge reduction in our living standards in the coming years.

The 'Big Society' is Cameron's way of trying to con us into accepting all of this through a sudden wave of mass benevolence and altruism that makes us forget how poor we are all becoming. While he and his rich mates sit in Westminster, and elsewhere, assuring us that they understand our pain and difficulties, the rest of us will be working 60 and 80 hours a week for half the pay we get now, and then doing 'good works' in our spare time as well, all buoyed up by the knowledge that we're doing good and supporting the 'Big Society'. Get real, Dave, and stop treating the population like morons. That way lies bloody revolution.