22nd
The great re-wiring - explaining the big society
Posted by John Houghton
A number of people have asked for more on my “much tweeted” energy generation analogy that I used to describe the big society at a recent New Start/NANM roundtable.
Basically, I was arguing that the job of creating the big society is as profound, as problematic and as potentially rewarding as the move toward localised energy generation.
Both are focused on creating a more localised and sustainable way of working. Both involve extensively re-wiring existing institutions while creating new capacity. And both are fundamentally about power – who generates it, and what it’s used for.
The problem
Traditionally, in the UK, we’ve relied on large, centralised and resource hungry power generators with a single controller. People are essentially passive consumers in this system, beyond the ability to switch supplier every now and again.
But there are a number of problems with this system:
A huge and very costly amount of energy is wasted in the transmission from the centre to people’s streets and homes
The over-dominance of the centre has starved local energy networks, so problems at the centre lead to black-outs
The raw materials on which they depend are running out – fossil fuels are depleted, and the legitimacy of our current governance set up has been fatally eroded
These aren’t minor flaws that can be fixed with a few tweaks. They’re fundamental problems with the way we keep the lights on.
The solution
So, the story goes, we need to turn the system of generation and distribution on its head.
Instead of people acting as passive consumers at the end of a centralised system, let’s equip them to create their own power and, by logical extension, work together in their neighbourhoods to form collectives and networks.
In energy terms, this means encouraging people to generate electricity by installing wind turbines and solar panels – their own mini power generators – and working with neighbours to pool what they earn and even sell some back to the national system.
In governance terms, it means encouraging people to create power for themselves, their families and their communities by volunteering, forming neighbourhood associations and ultimately taking over the ownership and management of state-controlled assets and services.
Re-wiring the system in this way would avoid, or at least mitigate, the problems described above.
It would also be: cheaper, avoiding the maintenance costs of large systems, even with the initial set up costs; more capable of spreading risk; and more responsive to consumer demand / citizen preference.
Conditions for success
So the problems with our existing, centralised system are clear; and there is a growing consensus that we need to start generating power from the very local level.
But the shift isn’t easy. In fact, it’s incredibly hard.
There are a few conditions for success that those of us who want to realise the big society, in its biggest and boldest sense, need to work in to the plan:
De-risk the process for ordinary people, by getting rid of the barriers in the way of local innovation and offering cheaper insurance to people who want to be creative
Provide technical support. Most people in most places won’t rush unaided to fill the gaps that are created when the government starts to switch off bits of the system. Simple, cheap, frontline support is needed, through local voluntary and community groups, to help people develop their own capacity.
Keep links into the national grid. There needs to be a feedback loop back into the national system, and a creative flow of energy between different places. We’re still nationally networked, even in a re-wired system.
Make sure everyone can participate. Very few deprived households have the space or resources to sort out their own generator. Without support, they will be even more excluded and fall further behind in a more dispersed system. Government has to ensure there are incentives and supports in the system to help the poorest places and families empower themselves.
If we can get these things right, the big society can be more radical than anything that has preceded it.
