Community identity in the twenty‐first century A postmodernist evaluation of local government structure

Abstract

A key concern in debates about local government structure has centred around the competing claims for democracy, usually seen to require small units based on recognised communities of interest, and those of administrative efficiency or the instrumental requirements of the centre, usually seen to require larger units which can encompass socio‐geographical change and the functional requirements of large‐scale welfare provision. Britain provides perhaps the best example of this issue being settled in favour of the latter claim with structure being designed to reflect changing patterns of economic interaction between people and the technical requirements of service delivery. Although the various recommended changes in structure have recognised the importance of a sense of community to local government the dominant considerations have been those of economic rationality and the scale required for the delivery of services. Thus local government structure has been determined by functional requirement, with the economic welfare of communities being equated to total welfare. The adoption of a postmodernist stance however, provides the opportunity to reintroduce the concept of spiritual community and for claiming that the maximisation of economic welfare is not necessarily the same as the maximisation of total welfare. Postmodernist arguments are used in this paper to suggest local government structures which contain units of varying sizes. To define community in terms of welfare maximisation in this way would allow the combination of economic, social, physiological and psychological welfare. It is argued that such a definition would help the development of a local government structure which is not purely instrumental but which also promotes ownership and involvement. This approach is equally applicable not only where an instrumental attitude has prevailed, but also allows for the potential to re‐define “traditional” community bases for Local Government.