A review by tildahlia
Radical Help: How We Can Remake the Relationships Between Us and Revolutionise the Welfare State by Hilary Cottam

4.0

This book could have done with an edit and tighten but the thesis, about the need to radically re-think the entire way welfare is provided, seems both obvious but also refreshing at once. It's hard to think outside a box that has become so firmly entrenched in our social structures, but what I loved about this book is that Cottam gives very concrete and specific case studies about experiments designed to try different ways of solving social problems that aims to work hyperlocally and in a way that empowers and uplifts the people that are needing help. This really helps to avoid what could otherwise be stating the obvious or an indulgent navel gaze. I liked the way she was frank about what did/didn't work and preserved the dignity of the people involved without sugarcoating the challenges they grappled with.