Rediscovering Voluntary Action The Beat of a Different Drum [Hardcover]

Volunteering and voluntary organizations have become increasingly important in British social and political life but at a cost. Greater prominence has led to a narrow and distorted view of what voluntary action involves and how it is undertaken. This book reasserts the case for a broader view of voluntarism as a unique set of autonomous activities.1. Introduction: Why The Theory and Practice of Voluntary Action Need Rethinking PART I: THE CONTEXT 2. Revisiting the Roots of Voluntary Action 3. The Invention of the Voluntary Sector and its Consequences 4. The Invention of Voluntary Work and its Consequences PART II: PRESSURES AND INFLUENCES 5. A Perilous Partnership? Voluntary Action and the State 6. Selling Out? Voluntary Action and the Market 7. The Hegemony of the Bureaucratic Model 8. The Pressure from Within PART III: ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES 9. Ownership and Control 10. What Are Voluntary Organisations For? 11. The Fallacies of Managerialism 12. Towards a 'Round Earth' Map of Volunteering 13. Dissenting Voices: The Case of the National Coalition for Independent Action PART IV: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 14. The Paradox of Sectorisation 15. Towards An Alternative Paradigm 16. The Implications of Rethinking Voluntary Action

A breath of fresh air and clarity in the world of muddle and fudge that is today's voluntary sector - Stephen Cook, Editor, Third Sector

The message of this new book is clear, vital, and most welcome - Jon Van Tyl, Professor Emeritus of Urban Studies and Community Development, Rutgers University, USA

This tour de force by one of Britain's leading thinkers on the subject reminds us that the range of voluntary action is far more diverse and variable than politicians, the public at large and even those who consider themselves part of the 'sector' understand or appreciate. The time is right to reassess and reassert its value. - Jay Kennedy, Director of Policy and Research, Directory of Social Chanl/