What became of The Local State? Neo-liberalism, community development and local government

Abstract

In 1977, Cynthia Cockburn published The Local State, a critique of the relationship between community development and corporate management in local government. This work prefigured wider and continuing attention to how depoliticized forms of community development can assist in the implementation of neoliberal agendas, particularly by focussing responsibility for social provision away from the state. However, community development has largely lost sight of the role of local government which is a serious problem because it sponsors and shapes so much community development practice, and is an institution through which wider social reform may be pursued. The implications of overlooking neoliberal localized control agendas for community development are explored via a case study from Victoria, Australia, where local government has become a principal vehicle for promoting participative ‘community planning’. As in other countries and contexts, close analysis reveals that what is represented as inclusive and empowering community engagement is effectively about containment and control. Community development needs to address the nature and implications of such policies and programmes, as well as the evolving nature of the local state and the opportunities for change that may be available. It would then be more likely extend beyond its marginalized status in local government, to try to use the institution as a whole in the pursuit of social justice.

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