2023 FUTURE OBSERVATORY
2023 FUTURE OBSERVATORY
The layer of government which should be most directly in contact with the individual is that of community government; often characterised as local or city government. The essence of it is that it is local; indeed, the political processes, and forces, involved are now often described as localism.
In recent years such local government has too often been forced to play second fiddle to national government - even in its local area - and too often been forced to dance to the latter's tune. Amongst many party politicians it has been seen as a - barely necessary - second best; a stepping stone to better things - they want ultimately to be President not Mayor.
With the redistribution of political power, it is not clear that in future local government will play such a, literally, peripheral role. Indeed, with the increasing shift to individualism, it is arguable that the importance of such local government will grow rapidly - albeit in terms of a very different form of politics to that played on the national stage; as maybe it should have done all along. The political interface with the individual, and management of resources to meet his or her individual needs, clearly must lie at this level. If this interface is not well managed there will be much greater problems created for the other levels!
Fortunately, the inherent political problems may be much less pronounced at this level. When allowed to manage their own house, those politicians involved in community politics - even some belonging to the national parties - have already proved how well they can rise to the challenge. The only pre-requisite seems to be de-coupling these political processes from national politics.
As a borough councillor (in the United Kingdom) myself, I represented a local - non-political - residents' association (not a political party) on a council which was dominated by a national party (the Conservatives). As a result of a strange set of circumstances, rather than my personal charm, I still - despite the dominance of Conservative the party - became one of the more powerful committee chairmen. Using this power, over half a decade, I managed to steadily move the whole council to a generally non (party) political stance. The result was a demonstrably more effective council; and one which achieved much greater legitimacy in the eyes of its electorate. Most rewardingly, in the context of making the process work, the councillors - especially those from the national party - were also happier; they actually liked being freed from the party's control, and genuinely representing their constituents. Note, though, that it did take more than half a decade; a time-scale which is normally beyond most politicians' horizons.
As my experiences showed, those local politicians most clearly representing national parties have the greatest difficulty dealing with those who genuinely are community representatives - perhaps most characteristically those representing residents associations (as I was), without any party label. The latter typically have no obvious manifesto, they simply have a philosophy of representing local communities - and individuals within them (thus beginning the process of managing individualism) - and doing what is best - in a given situation - for their constituents. This easy adoption of individual solutions to individual problems confuses, and offends, the political parties; who often seem woefully lost without the certainties offered by the dogma they purvey at the national level. But the sheer pragmatism of community politics actually works! More important, perhaps, it should also succeed in the context of the emerging portfolio politics (described later); where the compendium manifestos of the traditional parties are bound to fail. It may not be the only solution, but it should be put on the record as one possible viable answer to the anarchy which might otherwise ensue. The fact that there is at least one solution available should reassure those - especially those in politics - who fear there is no solution in sight.
Indeed, at the local level, the only acid-test needed is how the community, and within it the individual, is affected; and in practice this proves a very easy test for the politicians - and, more important, for their constituents - to apply. It really is much easier than everyone allows for. When in doubt we simply went and asked the community what it wanted, rather than engaged in endless soul-searching as to what might be the right decision! There is no reason - apart from the traditional insistence on the dogmas incorporated in political manifestos - why it should not also work at higher levels.
Community politics is already diverging, in many areas, from the agenda set by the national parties - with pragmatic servicing of local community needs becoming the powerful key to local success in the polls. With the changing frameworks of politics - differentiating between local, regional, national and global levels - and the growth of individualism, it is likely that community politics will continue to move away from the national parties towards the individual; for whom they will become the most direct interface.
The essential simplicity of this type of approach is not even recognised by political commentators; so it is understandable that futurologists also fail to recognise it - and worry about the dearth of solutions to the impending political crises.
Even though it may not be as vibrant as in Eastern Europe, 'civil society' is - according to the claims of Michael Walzer - an exciting place, far more so than the boring nation state. He goes on to say "...we are more likely to find men and women to admire amongst environmentalists, religious leaders, civil-rights activists...because they speak for people hitherto silent and they speak about issues hitherto repressed or ignored." More positively, but at least to some degree reflecting reality, Dick Atkinson - founder of the independent Phoenix Centre (which encourages urban regeneration) - suggests that "The emergent self-governing urban village needs its own non-party political voice and a degree of control over its own affairs."
Charles Leadbeater suggests that this is already happening "The heroes of the new politics of the late nineties are the communities and social entrepreneurs who promote them, working in that grey zone between the market and the state, deriving a sense of civic spirit from the basic building blocks of neighbourhood associations, sports clubs, churches and voluntary associations."
16 May 2003
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