Social inclusion and the public health: the case for partnerships.

Governments of both the right and left espouse community participation as a means of engaging with their constituencies. Concepts such as social capital, social justice, social participation, social coalition, equity, and communitarianism, are frames through which social policies are viewed. These directions in social policy (‘whole of government’) approaches in Australia; the ‘third way’ and ‘joined-up communities’ in the United Kingdom; and related concepts of 360° accountability, are relevant to the way the health system will be organised in the future.