Challenges for the struggle against austerity in Britain and Europe

This chapter analyses several challenges for the struggle against austerity, with an empirical focus on trends in Britain and Europe. It begins by sketching the descent from the historic class compromise of social democracy, highlighting the rise of inequality in the neoliberal period and illuminating the underlying tension between capitalism and democracy. It then turns to explore the roots of populist reaction, focussing on the venting of grievances and the projection of fears onto the so-called feral underclass, and emphasising the resurgent salience of xenophobia in the context of the Orwellian war on terror. It concludes by stressing both the difficulties with and the urgency of forging an emancipatory alternative to the tyranny and barbarism, indeed the defeat for humanity, caused by the victory of unfettered global capitalism.

Social initiatives and social solidarity under austerity

The 2008 financial crisis resulted in a protracted recession in Europe of a kind not seen since the Great Depression. Austerity policies in both countries have increased the presence of and need for social initiatives such as foodbanks and, with them, civic engagement. Foodbanks are often viewed as social solidarity organisations that usually distribute donated food among people in need. Considering that Germany and the UK have both seen a considerable expansion of foodbanks in recent years, this chapter, using the method of ethnography, examines to what extent and thereby how foodbanks in Germany and the UK can construct social solidarity under austerity. The chapter argues that while foodbanks can create a societal representation of solidarity, they can also reproduce social stratification and segregation on the ground. It shows that foodbanks can generate a public image of solidarity on the macro-level, meaning on the societal level, but may struggle to do so on the micro-level, in other words in the interactions between service providers and recipients.

Addressing food poverty in the UK

The foodbank network The Trussell Trust does not only give emergency food supplies, but also offers emotional support and a growing range of practical projects via the More Than Food programme to help tackle poverty-related issues. The mission is to bring communities together to end hunger and poverty in the UK by providing compassionate, practical help while challenging injustice. This chapter details the different programmes The Trussell Trust have devised and thereby examines some external challenges the London network faces. The chapter concludes that poverty and hunger are often amplified through social isolation. It suggests that more work needs to be done in order to increase collaboration across sectors, and specifically between the government, third sector, and businesses. There is increased need for more community life, and the fostering of social relations appears ever greater.

The Tafel and food poverty in Germany

Founded in 1993 by four women in Berlin, Germany, the Berliner Tafel is Germany’s oldest food rescue organization. The Tafel concept was quickly replicated and eventually developed into a nationwide network. Today, the Berliner Tafel has approximately 1,800 volunteers who tirelessly work to collect surplus food and deliver it to those in need throughout the city. The organization supplies over 300 social initiatives ranging from homeless shelters to soup kitchens and operates 45 food distribution points, Laib und Seele, in partnership with churches and the regional radio and television network. The Berliner Tafel supports more than 125,000 people in need every month with quality food that would otherwise have been unnecessarily thrown away. After the organization’s primary mission of rescuing food had adequately matured, the decision was taken to branch out and impact the lives of the children and youth of Berlin by establishing the KIMBA programme, which aims to teach young people from all backgrounds the value of food, good nutrition and the importance of sharing a meal together. Through all these activities the Berliner Tafel bolsters the fabric of German society by supporting vulnerable citizens while simultaneously having a positive impact on the environment and encouraging solidarity within and among Berlin’s diverse communities.

Finding employment and living a good life in London

This is one inner London charity’s story of working alongside people living on a low income. Pecan has worked for over 25 years in the community, with a focus on helping people out of the clutches of poverty through helping people to build the skills and confidence to secure work. But is work able to pay enough in London considering the rising cost of living in London? Drawing on the experiences of some people who have been in touch with Pecan and its projects, the chapter argues that while Pecan does its best to help people find and stay in employment through expert advice and emotional support, the structural difficulties posed by labour and housing market changes, which result in income and housing insecurities, can prevent people from shifting to a more stable position in their lives.

Conclusion: citizenship, community and solidarity at the end of the welfare state

The conclusion argues that political debates about the relationship between austerity and grassroots politics have focused on antagonism and anti-establishment anger. Other emergent citizenship practices have not been covered as prominently by the media and failed to have the same impact on policy and public discourse. This volume, however, has shown that European austerity has produced diverse types of political agency, and many of them include quiet, constructive, and concrete forms of neighbourhood action to promote equality and social justice. Such forms of community activism already construct local solidarity, but they can also become excuses for further withdrawal of state protection or amount to labour exploitation, leaving activists with ambivalent reflections on their own work, which the volume has documented as well. We suggest that future research will have to investigate whether the socially constructive practices of citizenship examined here will be able to translate successfully into national policy and produce change, or remain confined to specific local contexts without an impact on relevant public agendas.

The new economy of poverty

This chapter reflects the consequences of an established system of poverty relief: German foodbanks (Tafeln), which meanwhile have become part of the basic food supply of many citizens. Even if Tafeln consider themselves as a social movement they more and more appear as moral enterprises. This requires the analysis of the fundamental mechanisms within the economy of poverty, such as the commercialization of morals and the corresponding corruption of values. German foodbanks predominantly find their resonance in the system of economy. On the basis of reliable relationships to their moral clients, foodbanks are supplied with goods, equipment and services. The product they offer in return is a moral profit in the form of a positive image, which is useful in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility activities. As a social enterprise foodbanks imitate and emulate the prevailing economic rationality on every level from local practices to long-term strategies. This encompasses aspects such as differentiation of their range of products, securing the availability of their supply, quality management, professionalization as well as the efficiency enhancement. With their trademark protection and branding as Tafel, German foodbanks have emerged as monopolists on the market of pity, driving off other projects according to the logic of competition. The chapter comes to the conclusion that we have arrived in a society of spectacles in which it is becoming easier to receive public approval for symbolic poverty relief than it is to establish political legitimacy through sustainable fight for poverty reduction.

Fulfilling basic human needs: the welfare state after Beveridge

Traditional welfare states with their origins in the Beveridge report of 1942 have struggled to respond adequately to new structural pressures and challenges that have arisen in the advanced economies over the last seventy years, especially in Britain. These include changes in demography and the structure of family life, alongside the emergence of a post-industrial economy marked by the loss of skilled manufacturing employment and regions of the UK adversely impacted by the process of deindustrialisation. As the pressures on the welfare state have increased, so existing social security systems have struggled to address a diversity of unmet human needs. The purpose of this chapter is to consider the implications of these changes for contemporary social policy in the developed capitalist countries, paying particular attention to the policy landscape in the UK in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and austerity. The chapter addresses why the crisis and great recession have not led to a more radical recalibration of policy, and examines the emerging models of ‘relational welfare’ that seek to respond to a series of criticisms of the role of states and markets in welfare provision.

Introduction: social activism, belonging and citizenship in a period of crisis

This chapter introduces the books and the individual chapters, which were written by both academics and practitioners in the field in Germany and the UK. The book reflects an interest in democracy and, more pointedly, in how to express and practice citizenship, particularly in relation to helping others and generating a physical and social space for individual belonging. The book builds a narrative of how policy has failed to account for social belonging and, likewise, provide a framework for social solidarity in welfare reform though in practice the experience of belonging seems critical for instigating changes in individual behaviour and self-confidence. Part I: The Social Consequences of Welfare Policy examines policy attempts to address related aspects of poverty and consolidate a social role for the state through specified responsibilities, whether through providing health services, unemployment insurance, or other benefits. Part II: The Practice of Social Good is comprised of practitioner case studies. The section shows how grassroots activism translates abstract notions of a just society fashioned by policymakers. Part III: Social Change and Neoliberalism returns to the presentation of academic research and Part IV: Situating Solidarity in Perspective continues providing a critical platform to discuss the meaning of citizenship.

Individualism and community in historical perspective

This chapter argues that we need to stop seeing individualism and community as irreconcilable opposites, and stop fixating on idealised and nostalgic models of face-to-face community. Commentators tend to romanticise local, face-to-face forms of community at the expense of looser forms of social relationship that may be equally rewarding and equally likely to strengthen social cohesion. They also tend to gloss over the darker-side of forced community, ignoring the fact that people actively sought to escape such environments once the opportunity arose. As lived experience community has changed rather than diminished. New technologies, from the car and the telephone to web-based social networking, have made it easier to sustain relationships rooted in genuine affection rather than simply in proximity. Indeed, it has never been easier to reconcile the urge for privacy and personal freedom with social connectedness. It is not that we have suddenly become individualist – the historic roots of individualism run deep in British culture. Rather, in recent decades many of the important corporate and communal facets of society and polity have been hollowed out, leaving individualistic impulses much less constrained. We should read the widespread nostalgia for community that runs through our culture as resistance to this process; as evidence that people want to find a way to reconcile personal freedom – the right not to have to conform to others’ expectations – with a deeper sense of social connection. Instead of lamenting the world that is lost, we need to focus our energies on maximizing the opportunities for people to enjoy both personal freedom and fulfilling, socially connected lives.