To a degree, a spirit of volunteerism did flow from austerity. Public libraries came to depend on the donated labors of concerned citizens, who eventually outnumbered paid staff. Schools began serving breakfast as well as lunch, cognizant that students in poor households were showing up unfed. Parents swapped hand-me-down school uniforms. But celebrating this sort of collectivism as part of the Big Society was akin to setting your house on fire and then reveling in the community spirit as your neighbors came running to help extinguish the blaze.
