Bring back Community

I grew up in Scotland but have lived in London 19 years. I remember when I was a kid we had a local community centre which was cheap to join and had an incredible range of activities (Fencing, Circuit Trainin, Judo, Wrestling, Dance, Disco, Pool, Cafe and more). Although from a poor working class background, I became a keen fencer and eventually coached a junior class. We also had a 'Programme Learning Centre' which used teaching machines to teach all sorts of subjects including languages. This was free to residents of the town and one only had to make an appointment as required. I remember, as a teenager, having a real sense of belonging to a community as a consequence. I remember actually feeling proud of my town.

Now, with yuppie gyms even we adults can't afford, with broken down youth centres and Tony's global capitalism kids struggle with false values, the elevation of selfishness to a virtue and economic exclusion of the least fortunate. Isn't it time we ditched the Thatcherite free-for-all and brought back the idea of Community?

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You obviously haven't been home to your native Scotland for a while have you? There is absolutely no community spirit there compared to what there is here in the South East. I lived there for the past 5 years and am glad to be home in a country where there is no problem with communities as far as I can see!

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I know I'm taking up this particular cudgel after a long hiatus, but I've only just seen the previous comment. I'm not saying anything as simple as 'Scotland has more community spirit than England' - post Thatcher/Blair it clearly doesn't. What I'm saying is, in the past pre neoliberalist times of my teenage years - communities were better supported and had a better person-orientated infrastructure. As a teenager I felt proud of my town and part of a community. I only make comparison with the current London situation because that is where I have lived for the past twenty years and I can see clearly that kids have very little by comparison.

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