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The "big society" - the idea that volunteers should take over some of the functions of the state - is the most over-used policy phrase of the moment. But how will the theory work in practice? Chris Bowlby looks at the big society on the ground in Oxford - from the affluent streets of the City's North to the deprived estates of Blackbird Leys - and tries to figure out the consequences of expecting communities to do more for themselves.

The role of credit in the build up to the global financial crisis is well known - but what has our reliance on credit been doing to the wider economy and to human behaviour? The expansion of consumer credit has been encouraged by social democratic as well as centre right governments. But some on the left believe that the growth of the financial sector has given birth to a novel form of capitalism and with that a new kind of worker exploitation. Paul Mason meets the economists of "financialisation" who believe that credit has become the defining relationship between workers and employers, citizens and public services. Paul Mason is Economics Editor of Newsnight and the author of Meltdown: The End of the Age of Greed.

Was the economic crisis caused by fundamental problems with the system rather than a mere failure of policy?Over two weeks, Analysis investigates two schools of economics with radical solutions.This week, Jamie Whyte looks at the free market Austrian School of FA Hayek. The global recession has revived interest in this area of economics, even inspiring an educational rap video. "Austrian" economists believe that the banking crisis was caused by too much regulation rather than too little. The fact that interest rates are set by central banks rather than the market is at the heart of the problem, they argue. Artificially low interest rates sent out the wrong signals to investors, causing them to borrow to spend on "malinvestments", such as overpriced housing. Jamie Whyte is head of research and publishing at Oliver Wyman, a management consulting firm. He is a former lecturer in philosophy at Cambridge University and the author of Bad Thoughts: A Guide to Clear Thinking. Contributors: Prof Steven Horwitz, St Lawrence University, New York Prof Larry White, George Mason University, Washington DC Prof Robert Higgs, Independent Institute, California Philip Booth, Institute of Economic Affairs Steve Baker, Conservative MP John Papola, co-creator Fear the Boom and Bust Lord Robert Skidelsky, economic historian and biographer of John Maynard Keynes Tim Congdon, founder, Lombard Street Research Producer : Rosamund Jones Next week, Newsnight's Economics Editor Paul Mason meets the economists of "financialisation" and asks whether the growth of credit has given birth to a new kind of capitalism.