Much is being discussed in relation to social cohesion, and many policies are suggestd to advane this imperative.
Here is what wiki has to say in definition, with my comments interspersed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_cohesion
According to the government-commissioned, State of the English Cities thematic reports, there are five different dimensions of social cohesion: material conditions, passive relationships, active relationships, inclusion and equality.
***Let’s just pause for a second... who is making the definitions, and how come? Well, the sociologists who populate government see that the prior generations of government planners have yielded terrible results: food, housing, clothing, security, justice, opportunity and finances have all gone south under the regimes in place. At least in USA, our only growth industries are war and prison. So now comes a review of the situation...***
? The report shows that material conditions are fundamental to social cohesion, particularly employment, income, health, education and housing. Relations between and within communities suffer when people lack work and endure hardship, debt, anxiety, low self-esteem, ill-health, poor skills and bad living conditions. These basic necessities of life are the foundations of a strong social fabric and important indicators of social progress.
***Indeed, wasn’t progressivism supposed to ameliorate just these problems? Decades of time and billions of dollars for programs devised by the best and brightest, and this is what we yield? What do we have more of? Big box retail built on socializing (lay it on the taxpayers) costs, tax avoidance and money laundering, as well as regimentation. The problems cited above will ameliorate when we remove the subsidies and regulations that benefit big biz. Just eliminate those, and small biz will flourish. You need no policy for small business, except “hands off.”***
? The second basic tenet of cohesion is social order, safety and freedom from fear, or "passive social relationships". Tolerance and respect for other people, along with peace and security, are hallmarks of a stable and harmonious urban society.
***Here is the paradox here, pound for pound citizens fear their government, for its chaos and harm, far more than they fear crime. When governments pre-emptively attack non-threatening countries, conduct warrantless searches of peoples communications, and when they travel, when we embrace torture and habeas corpus suspension, and bail out failed businesses in direct contravention of the will of the people, it is government that presses intolerance, disrespect, indecency and fear on people.***
? The third dimension refers to the positive interactions, exchanges and networks between individuals and communities, or "active social relationships". Such contacts and connections are potential resources for places since they offer people and organisations mutual support, information, trust and credit of various kinds.
***Yes, before government, and without government there are countless mediating institutions, with the twin marks of free association and freedom to contract. Government interferes at the level of definition of marriage, interfering with free association, and nulllifying freely agreed conracts. We need to roll this intervention back.***
? The fourth dimension is about the extent of social inclusion or integration of people into the mainstream institutions of civil society. It also includes people's sense of belonging to a city and the strength of shared experiences, identities and values between those from different backgrounds.
***When the civil rights movement was about “goodies from government” it had no traction. When it appealed to small business to repeal the government “Jim Crow Laws,” great progress was made. Small business was the change agent in the civil rights movement. Progressivism claims blacks have equal opportunity due to their program. Maybe, if blacks are not in prison due to progressives policies on crime and punishment. Blacks are 13% of the population, but 50% of the prison population. Blacks are no longer lynched, or not as often, but innocent black men are far more often executed by the state. There are alternatives to our criminal “justice” system.***
? Lastly, social equality refers to the level of fairness or disparity in access to opportunities or material circumstances, such as income, health or quality of life, or in future life chances.
***Opportunity is entirely a matter of a free market. Leave people alone, they will innovate, make their own opportunities, generate division of labor, and in turn make more goods and services available at a lower cost to more people. Freedom is the key here.***
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