Participation, Social Life and Politics

How do the politics of individual responsibility and the centrality of work in people’s lives play out in the domains of citizenship, social life and the politics of social participation? This chapter argues that not only people have to learn to be good citizens, but the structures also have to be there, in social institutions of all kinds, for them to exercise citizenship rights and responsibilities actively and fully and in ways which make sense for the lifeworlds they inhabit. This applies throughout the life course and through work as well as in social and community life. Engaged social participation that gives access to powerful knowledge creates the conditions for people to find new ways of solving problems and working together to influence decisions that affect their lives.