Fixing broken societies

The article discusses the history of volunteer campaigns aimed at moral and social reform and community cohesion in British society, particularly focusing on the late seventeenth century to the late nineteenth century. It comments on social inequality and the participation of the urban working class in these campaigns. The author reflects on British Societies for the Reformation of Manners and campaigns for various goals, such as temperance. He also examines modern ideas about luxury and spending. Discussions of riots in England in 2011 are also analyzed.