A concept whereby a significant amount of responsibility for the running of a society is devolved to local communities and volunteers.
Example sentencesExamples
Indeed, Labour will make a great mistake if they put themselves on the opposite and wrong side of the idea at the heart of the big society.
What we are doing is not dissimilar to the Big Society message of the coalition.
The second noteable thing about the Tories 'Big Society' is that, for all its anti-state posturing, it will not increase people's freedom and choices.
In its place will come a total transformation, he said, "from unchecked individualism to national unity and purpose, from big government to the big society."
Moreover, the government sets much store in a belief that the "big society" can fill gaps left by cuts to public spending.
It helps that the Conservative government has already moved to a more communitarian "Big Society" governing philosophy.
The Tory vision of the Big Society plays strongly into these new political realities.
A big society needs people anchored in place and blessed with time, yet Conservative economics grants neither except to the well-off.
The big society idea pretends to devolve power, but will actually devolve accountability away from the state.
We have to strengthen families and reform schools so we can start to build the big society.
For the Tories, that means nurturing the "big society" to fill the gap that opens when the state is rolled back.
He reportedly added: "The corollary of the big society is the smaller state."
Our alternative to big government is the big society.
The 'big society' is about big spending cuts and a big risk.
But Mr Clegg today insisted that the Lib Dem agenda has a great deal in common with Mr Cameron's Big Society proposals.
But we understand that the big society is not just going to spring to life on its own: we need strong and concerted government action to make it happen.
This week, amid much fanfare, the Prime Minister outlined how his Big Society idea could help transform communities.
But the Prime Minister's warm words about a Big Society are little more than a cover for deep and ideological cuts to local services.
I think Marquand is right to suggest that the "big society" is a challenge to Labour, and for the centre-left more generally.
You can't have a big society unless its citizens feel that they own a stake in it.