Big Society, Big Government

Cameron's been defending his Big Society programme in The Guardian (of all places). It is, much like its author, anodyne and pretty bland. The only people it could truly work up are those who believe, like some sort of tedious cultists, that cuts are bad. To everyone else, it is a bland repetition of a case that already isn't convincing anyone.

For me, though, it is all about looking for those telling little signs that Cameron isn't actually all about smaller government. And you have to sift through pretty much the whole article to get to the crucial point. But, just so you don't have to, here it is:

But we understand that while the opportunity lies in the future the local authority cuts are happening now. So this week we are launching a transition fund to help charities prepare to bid for these contracts and a big society bank to provide some working capital when they're awarded them.

Or, to translate from Cameronspeak, the government will still fund various organisations, and make those organisations vie for funds. The difference between what has been happening and what will happen under the Big Society is a little lost on me: the government still takes money from its people and redistributes it to organisations of which it approves. Which is not so much Big Society as Big Government.

Which is the big problem; this isn't about reducing government control over society, it is about redefining government control. Paternalism rather than centralisation seems to be the order of the day. Which is fine if you are a paternalist; any true liberal, though, should be feel pretty despairing when faced with the Cameron vision of a Big Society.

I don't doubt some will latch onto the word "transition" in quote above, and argue that this is all a stepping stone to a genuine redistribution of power between government and society. They may yet be shown to be right, but at the moment that requires a leap of faith that I just can't make. The Big Society is still an exercise in central government control - plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.