Date: Tuesday 4 May 2010
Time: 6.30-8pm
Venue: D302, Clement House
Speakers: Professor Chandran Kukathas, Professor Martin Loughlin, Professor David Soskice, Professor Tony Travers
Chair: Dr Emmanuel Melissaris

Much of the 2010 election campaign has focused on the dilemma, introduced by the Conservative party, between the "Big Society" on the one hand and the State on the other. In traditional liberal thought the State aims at guaranteeing the fairness of social cooperation in large-scale, pluralistic societies. According to the Conservative manifesto the "Big Society" is about the transfer of various powers traditionally held by the State to small-scale people's associations in light of a new sense of social responsibility. The aim of this event is to put the dilemma to closer scrutiny. What are the historical parallels and origins of the "Big Society"? What are its presuppositions and implications? Is the dilemma genuine? If so, is it the State or the "Big Society" that presents a more attractive alternative?

Chandran Kukathas is Professor of Political Theory at the Department of Government, LSE. Martin Loughlin is Professor of Public Law and Head of the Law Department, LSE.
David Soskice is Research Professor in Comparative Political Economy at the University of Oxford and Research Professor of Political Science at Duke University. Tony Travers is the Director of the Greater London Group, LSE. Emmanuel Melissaris is a Lecturer at the Law Department, LSE.

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