We Must Reclaim Our High Streets

With the recent collapse of HMV, Jessops and Blockbuster, there seems a consensual acknowledgement that the proverbial 'death' of the British high street is closer than previously anticipated. With it, has come a hurried rush of authors keen to pen its obituary, reminiscing a time where high streets had once forged the identity of local communities, assuring us at least of some humanity in the unforgiving face of mass consumerism.

Yet, such nostalgia is often procured from self indulgence. In an age where the values of collective society are often conflicted, romanticised notions of the high street are commonly used to denounce the domination of big business, tax avoiders and monopolistic practicioners. Indeed, the importance of the high street is not simply its ability to bind local communities, but also in that it operates within the context of a 'moral economy'- providing benefits for businesses, employees and consumers.

In reality, this high street died a long time ago- and much to our delight. Banished were those expensive unreliable independent shops, to be replaced with bigger and more glamorous chain stores offering greater choice and a more pleasurable shopping experience. In embracing the individualism of the late nineties and early noughties, we in fact facilitated a cynical model of free market capitalism, in which the integrity of our communities were irrelevant, so long as we could continue shopping.

Some of the high street's post-mortems have relished in the thought of chain stores becoming the victims they once anihilated- vulnerable to obscure management structures offered by the likes of Amazon or Asos.com in producing cheaper and more efficient services. They argue that the high street has failed in pleasing the consumer, and therefore deserve- as economic orthodoxy dictates, to be punished.

However, such applause only legitimises this venomous model of enterprise.

Instead, we should view this as an opportunity to reclaim our high streets, giving them a new lease of life in which they can truly work in the interests of local people.

The benefit of this would not simply one of financial value or material indulgence.

Instead, it would help to encourage creativity, community values and a sense of

collective identity. Through local business and young entrepreneurship, a type of high street more reflective its local culture and better valued by its residents would be far more resilient than ones dominated by lifeless chain stores, devoid of any real human value.

Utopian as it might sound, the lesson of the high street's demise should not in glorifying the free market, but rather, to understand the profound responsibilities local people have in defining their own communities.