Ignore what people say, see what they do

Alex Massie reports the results of a survey of the British public regarding their opinion of the Big Society. To summarise:

• Most people don’t know what it is…
• …nevertheless, most people think it is a good idea…
• …but most people think it won’t work.

So, there are a large number of people sufficiently compos mentis to answer a survey who nevertheless can confidently assert mutually exclusive opinions on a subject they admit they know little about.

My advice is to ignore these people.

So how do you know what people really think if many people can’t be trusted to answer surveys properly? Instead of looking at the stated preference (what people say they prefer, or think), look for the revealed preference. Revealed preferences are the things people give away about themselves by their actions.

Loads of people say they would prefer a return to local specialist shops, but they do all their grocery shopping in supermarkets.

People claim that they wish they could learn an instrument/another language, but they don’t. Nearly everyone could make a good fist of trying either of those, but hardly any do. I’ve given up saying that sometimes I wish I could play an instrument – because if I wanted to, I would do so. Given my revealed preference, it appears that I don’t.

This is a really useful tool for understanding something about both yourself and society. You can happily ditch the lingering feelings of guilt or regret about not taking up something you “always wanted to” – turns out you didn’t! You can also filter out pointless news items about the kind of world people claim they want. Look to what they do, the picture will be much clearer.

Balsall Heath is in The Vanguard

According to The Balsall Heathan the area has been given “Vanguard” status:

“Vanguard” status does not bring a treasure chest of funds with it. It brings something more useful – civil servants from the government who will help to solve the problems of Balsall Heath. For the first time, the residents of a “deprived” area will tell the government what they need and what must be done.

I first heard about the Vanguard programme (why do government programmes have such cringe-inducing names?!) at the evil 2010 Conservative Conference, at a fringe event featuring Greg Clark, Minister for Communities and Local Government.

My brief notes of what he said and my recollection seem to disagree slightly with the quote above. The phrase “civil servants from the government who will help to solve the problems of Balsall Heath” sounds a little passive on the part of the community. The impression I got about the scheme was that active local groups frequently came up against obstructive petty officialdom, usually in the guise of the Local Authority. In many cases the obstructionism was completely unfounded – saying things were against regulations when it simply wasn’t true; dictating all sorts of onerous hoops to jump through that weren’t necessary; and so on. The “Barrier Busting” civil servants were mainly there to make these illusory obstacles disappear, but the motive force for the scheme remained with the local community.

Perhaps I’m getting caught up in non-existent nuances! Still, it is heartening to hear a politician say something and to later discover that it was actually true. The barriers will be busted, the Vanguards will march forth, and all will be well with the Big Society.

Conservative Conference – David Cameron’s Speech and the Big Society

Today I just went for DC’s speech.

I really don’t get why people think the Big Society is an obscure concept, it’s pretty fricking simple.  You, as a member of society, of your community, your local area, should take responsibility for it as far as possible, and not expect the government to do everything.

So that great project in your community – go and lead it.

The waste in government – go and find it.

The new school in your neighbourhood – go and demand it.

The beat meeting on your street – sign up.

The neighbourhood group – join up.

That business you always dreamed of – start up.

When we say “we are all in this together”, that is not a cry for help but a call to arms.

Society is not a spectator sport. This is your country. It’s time to believe it. It’s time to step up and own it.

I get the feeling that some people have wilfully refused to understand this very simple concept for some time now, because it suits them to portray it as a muddle that doesn’t really mean anything.  Perhaps such people have something to lose from it? The only losers would be those who are used to wielding their little bit of state power.