Special issue editorial A good society: A critical reflection Katy Goldstraw and John Diamond Edge Hill University, UK The concept of a good society is deeply con- tested, and the authors acknowledge that this particular discussion of a good society is taking place in a period of profound global change. We know that poverty is increasing globally (JRF, 2017) and that local communities and states are facing the political challenges of maintaining lib- eral democracy when social cohesion, pov- erty and inequalities are in turmoil. We also recognise that where both national and local systems are facing resistance or chal- lenge, considering alternative visions of a good society becomes more important as well as contentious. At the core of these debates is a conceptual one: what is meant by a ‘good society’ and in globally con- nected capitalist economy, how much space is there to secure values and ways of organising society which might be in direct conflict with dominant economic model? This global uncertainty appears to suggest that there is no space for more reflective exploration of visions of a good society. Yet, through uncertainty, creativity can emerge (Fullan, 1999); it is this creativity, the envisioning of what a new and better version of society might look like, that this special issue seeks to capture. The dif- ferent research projects discussed seek to do just this. This special issue is not simply a philosophical discussion, it also offers prac- tical ideas to build a good society which the authors and the Trust recognise will be con- tested and questioned. This themed issue will critically evaluate the contested concept of a good society, in a post-Brexit context. At the root of the dis- cussion is the questioning of what is the role of the state, at what point does it intervene and why and what alternative models are there? What emerges from these papers is a range of explorations and interpretations of a good society in this context. Visions of a good society have been used to justify a variety of political objectives in the UK as different Prime Ministers from Cameron’s Big society (BSNBG, 2010), Blair’s Third Way (Sage, 2012) to Thatcher’s ‘there is no such thing as society’ (1987) illustrate. This special issue brings together a number of activist researcher and academ- ics from a variety of different disciplines. Their contributions have been informed by Corresponding author: John Diamond, Edge Hill University, St Helens Road, Aston, Lancashire L39 4QP, UK. Email: diamondj@edgehill.ac.uk Local Economy 2018, Vol. 33(6) 565–568 ! The Author(s) 2018 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0269094218803550 journals.sagepub.com/home/lec