The Big Society - British Conservatism and its journey to modern, compassionate progressiveness?

Abstract: This thesis is investigating the British Conservative Party’s focus on two concepts: the Big Society and the Broken Society. By using Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse analytical approach in analysing the language used in political speeches, the values and ideas constituting the Big Society was found. The Big Society is explained as a radical, yet compassionate agenda based on a redistribution of power from government to citizens. In times of economic hardship, the Big Society is argued to be the recipe for building a better Britain. The Big Society is a welfare reform agenda that is suppose to solve the Broken Society. What needs to be fixed is the growing underclass: irresponsible families that live off welfare dependency and engages in a culture of poverty. The way poverty and inequality is discussed: as a symptom of cultural and behavioural problems – makes the compassionate agenda doubtful and raises the question whether it really means a better and bigger society for everyone. The results of the analysis shows that the Big Society – Broken Society narrative is nothing new and builds upon New Labour’s rhetoric which implies the domination of a discourse – where material poverty and inequality is seen as not so problematic.