Communitarians And Obligations

Communal living has been a fixture of society since the days of hunter-gathering. It wasn’t until social classes began to emerge and forms of capitol were created that societies moved away from communism. The modern theory of communism comes from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’, The Communist Manifesto. Published in 1848, this dissemination of communist ideals, which called for the elimination of class

What is a community? To many it is a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. For many this is an abstract term. Many people don’t exactly know what a community is. It can be felt or touched and sure enough it can’t be seen. Society also plays a role in this relative and abstract term of community. Meaning, the body of human beings generally, associated or viewed as members of a community. Amitai Etzioni in his article “The New Community” introduces and compares the ideas of two distinct types of social relations, “gemeinschaft” and “gesellschaft” and argues for the necessity of both to maintain the social foundations of morality. The

The Notion of Duty – “In order to do so, we shall set before ourselves the concept of duty, which contains that of a good will though under certain subjective limitations and hindrance, which, however, far from concealing it and making It unrecognizable, rather bring it out by contrast and make it shine forth all the more brightly.” (Kant pg.104)

Around the world, there are hundreds of types of civilizations made up of thousands of communities. These communities are composed of different types of citizens, these citizens come from all different backgrounds and support the community in different ways. Westheimer and Kahne (2013) write, “we found three visions of ‘citizenship’ were particularly helpful in making sense of the variation: the personally responsible citizen; the participatory citizen; and the justice-oriented citizen” (pg. 349). One may begin to wonder, which of these types of citizens will result in the perfect community? This paper will individually explore the effectiveness and impact of all of the types of citizens, then begin

In the essay, “The Common Life” by Scott Russell Sanders, Sanders studies the connection between the individual and society. However, this leads to the question, what is the relationship between the individual and society? Individuals and societies may be in opposition but this helps to develop both the individual and society. The decisions that an individual makes reflects on how society views him/her. The overlook of the community can be reverted back to the individual within the society. Society and individuals are a package deal.

Humans in society are like musicians in an orchestra. Solo, their parts sound odd and out of place, lacking the harmonies mindfully composed for the rest of the orchestra. Humans are interdependent, social creatures by nature. We rely on each other to survive. We rely on each other to do jobs that might require a certain skill set or jobs that we might not have time to do ourselves. We even rely on each other to bring a sense of familiarity and security to our communities just by knowing one another. If we all remained anonymous, then we could not rely on each other to satisfy these vital societal needs. Scott Russell Sanders, in his essay “The Common Life”, states that the more people in a community who prefer to live isolated and reclusive lives, the more susceptible the community is to a division that impedes its ability to live together, interact synergistically, and thrive. He correctly believes that this division can lead to a total “breakdown” in society.

First off, moral obligation, in this essay, can be defined as an obligation to act in good faith because it lies within your personal values. In other words, it can be your reasoning for making a morally right decision.

The collectivist society in which Equality 7-2521 lives within is similar to the Nazi and Communists states of the twentieth century. The leaders of this society do not permit individual thinking, but to be like a fragment in a group whose purpose is to serve its needs. Equality 7-2521 states, “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever.” (Chapter 1, Page 19) Individuals have no identity of their own, and come to the realization in their society that they are just part of one, large group.

Moral obligations should typically not be so demanding that enormous sacrificies must be made in order to fulfill them (Liao, Savulescu, & Sheehan, 2007).

The definition provided in The American College Dictionary from 1964 says “a group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule.” I never really viewed community in this manner. Many of us think of the word “community” as a group of people who live near each other. We forget that a community is actually just a group of people with common interests or characteristics who often happen to live near each other. Communities can be bound by race, religion, economic standings, political standings, and most commonly, location. Frequently, communities fall into more than one of these categories.

In our 21st century society we are immersed in, the idea of these “ideal” identities seem foreign as they step off of what we experience in our own identities of individuality. These polar opposite views of a citizens purpose are ones that find themselves on completely different ends of the same spectrum of egocentric vs. magnanimus priorities in life. While from our point of view we see a completely community based population as alien and incorrect, there are many positives outlined in the community identities silhouetted in both 1984 and Brave New World.

In “The Abundant Community,” both authors John McKnight and Peter Block discuss their ideas on “the citizen way” of life, and the downfalls of “the consumer way,” and how to avoid them. For instance, the authors believe in the goodness that is “the citizen way,” and that if we learned to trust in our neighbors we could build a strong community that can provide security. As well as, obtaining a better income by talking to people in one’s community about future employment. However, if we continue to depend on “the consumer way” we as a community will live an unsatisfied and disconnected life. We are so advanced in technology that we are able to obtain almost anything from the comfort of our own homes, which limits social interaction. Moreover,

In an expanding urban society that values communication increasingly, people are seeing that collectivism is a means by which we can resolve the everyday issues that inevitably do arise throughout time. The selfishness of individualism can inhibit the progress of society because an individual cannot see past his or her own wealth or personal contentions that they have a part to play in society. On this topic, Martin Luther king Jr. can be quoted as saying that an “individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity”. Clearly, King is supporting the collectivist idea that an individual has the responsibility as a part of his role in life to try

As we grow as develop as individuals we begin to make choices about where we want to find belonging. This can be seen in choices as minor as belonging to a football club or friendship group, to more life-altering choices such as being a member of a political party or protest group such as Green peace. As individuals make such choices they do not sacrifice their identities, but rather work to increase and from their ever-changing sense of self. Such choices can also be made after life-altering circumstances, such as when people feel a need to join victim’s group or support groups when they or a loved one contract a chronic or terminal illness.

“Parents are entitled, in a way children are owned by their parents because they are your creators. Your freedom, everything in your life exists because you exist and you exist because your