Gemeinschaft Revisited

A Critique and Reconstruction of the Community Concept

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2247308
AutoresBrint (0000-0002-3475-6661, University of California, Riverside, autor correspondente), Steven Brint
Ano2001
Volume19
Fascículo1
Páginas1-23
Data de publicação2001-03-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoSociological Theory (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0735-2751 • E-ISSN: 1467-9558
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/0735-2751.00125
OpenAlexW2138585831
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas139
Referências citadas95

Community remains a potent symbol and aspiration in political and intellectual life. However, it has largely passed out of sociological analysis. The paper shows why this has occurred, and it develops a new typology that can make the concept useful again in sociology. The new typology is based on identifying structurally distinct subtypes of community using a small number of partitioning variables. The first partition is defined by the ultimate context of interaction; the second by the primary motivation for interaction; the third by rates of interaction and location of members; and the fourth by the amount of face-to-face as opposed to computer-mediated interaction. This small number of partitioning variables yields eight major subtypes of community. The paper shows how and why these major subtypes are related to important variations in the behavioral and organizational outcomes of community. The paper also seeks to resolve some disagreements between classical liberalism and communitarians. It shows that only a few of the major subtypes of community are likely to be as illiberal and intolerant as the selective imagery of classical liberals asserts, while at the same time only a few are prone to generate as much fraternalism and equity as the selective imagery of communitarians suggests. The paper concludes by discussing the forms of community that are best suited to the modern world

Economics · Epistemology · Liberalism · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Social science · Sociology · Turkish · Typology · Anthropology · Law · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Capital and Networks · Social Psychology