This book is published on the Web by UK Communities Online http://www.communities.org.uk, which is foranyone interested in how the Internet can make a difference in their lives and theircommunity, particularly through local electronic community networking.
Contents
Author: Greg Smith, writing as an employee of
Aston Charities
Community Involvement Unit
Durning Hall
London E7 9AB
tel (44) 0181
519 2244
Email greg3@uel.ac.uk
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This book aims to explore the concept of "community" and"communitarianism" from a variety of perspectives including those of classicalsociological theory, the tradition of community studies, social network analysis, currentdebates on social policy and community development, in the context of the rapidly emerginginformation society and the crisis / end of modernity. In particular it will pick up oncurrent debates around the concept of communitarianism, made popular on both sides of theAtlantic by Etzioni, and which is being taken up in sound-bites if not policy bypoliticians of Left and Right. The stance to be taken is broadly supportive of thecommunitarian vision but asks critical questions as to the possibility and modes of itsimplementation in the context of plural, fragmented urban society. Is it possible to"(re)build community" in the postmodern world where local neighbourhoodbelonging and identity is being replaced by individually selected identities which oftentranscend geography, and where the idea of a consensus of values is extremely problematic?
The book is fundamentally a critical introduction to the concept of community ratherthan on the philosophy or politics of communitarianism. However it is the importance ofcommunitarianism in the late 1990's that make the book timely and relevant.
The main market would probably be undergraduate sociologists / social scientists /urban geographers, and community professionals (such as social workers, health visitors,planners, community workers, clergy etc.) especially during training or on postgraduatetaught courses. Policy makers, local government officers and community activists wouldalso find it valuable. Many of the issues covered would be of interest to an internationalreadership, including North America and the Third World.
Level: undergraduate in social sciences, professionals and postgraduates in associatedfields such as health and community work. also educated lay readership.
Courses: The book could become a main text in courses for community professionals andcommunity workers and a supplementary text for social science courses.
Bell & Newby (1970) is the classic text in Community Studies but was followed bythe virtual demise of the genre until Herbert & Davies (1993). This approachescommunity from the perspective of urban geographers and planners. Crow & Allen (1994)is perhaps the closest to the proposed book, but does not cover the impact of informationtechnology on community. Rheingold (1994) concentrates entirely on this aspect. Wilmott(1989), Bulmer (1987) and Henderson et al. (199 ) cover the social policy angles oncommunity in the British context. Etzioni's work on communitarianism is increasinglyinfluential among policy makers and would be discussed and sympathetically critiqued inthis volume.
The author has been involved in community work and social research in East London fortwenty years. For the last four years he has held the post of Research Officer with AstonCommunity Involvement Unit, where his role is to undertake research of relevance to thevoluntary sector locally and support community organisations in doing their own research.He is an honorary visiting research fellow at the University of East London, and acommittee member of ARVAC (association for reseaerch in the voluntary and communitysector). He has carried out various projects which raise questions about the concept ofcommunity in a (post)modern urban setting, and which address policy issues in communitydevelopment, the voluntary sector and care in the community. The proposed book arose fromthe author's concern to set such research and community involvement in an adequatetheoretical framework, and to help colleagues grapple with some of the importantunderlying issues which shape the context of their work. It is based on his experience ofresearch and practice and informed by an extensive reading of the relevant academicliterature in the field. However there is no intention to cover in any detail the growingphilosophical and political literature around the concept of communitarianism.
The book begins by flagging up the notion of community as an important feature ofeverday life and some of the "commonsense" assumptions around the theme. I thenintroduce the theme of communitarianism and describe its emergence as a politicalprogramme in the 1990s. The chapter then begins to examine and question the various formsof ideological and utopian discourse around "community". A term which isuniversally accepted as a word with a warm glow it has been used to mask social injusticeas well as to inspire collective action for change. The key questions to be addressed inthe book and a guide to its structure are set out.
In this chapter the policies and practices of various institutions which carry thelabel "community" are examined and critiqued. e.g. community care, communityhealth, community policing, community education, community development, community capacitybuilding, community enterprise, community organising, community action. The political andsocial trends which have led to a new emphasis on "community" ware described.How does communitarian thinking impinge on these policies and what are the hopes andlimitations of the movement?.
The huge range of definitions (Hillery's 94) can be categorised in a number of ways.The first split is between geographical neighbourhood definitions and sociological oneswhich stress common interest or networks of interaction. Communion or solidarityintroduces a distinct dimension, which can only be understood in the context of conflictand boundary marking processes. The classic sociological approaches of Tonnies(gemeinschaft, gesellschaft) are covered along with Schmalenbach's ideas of bund andcommunion. Reference is also made to Durkheim's notions of mechanical and organicsolidarity and anomie, and to Marx & Weber.
Using the geographical notion of community this chapter covers ways of analysing thesocial life of localities. What makes a neighbourhood and how can we study them?Boundaries, central places, through routes, mental maps. Housing types, tenures and thetypes of local residents. Census data and urban ecology. Community facilities andservices, (schools, leisure centres, churches etc). Community and voluntary sector groups.Networking and mapping such local resources. Their role as mediating institutions betweenthe citizen and the state. Participation, its potential and its limits.
A brief critical review of early work (especially Chicago school) and the Britishtradition (Stacey / Frankenberg / Young & Wilmott / Bell & Newby). How far didthese studies capture the reality of working class life, including the role of women andfamily. Was community life economically determined, for example by shared employment andclass struggle in local industries? How and why this tradition was superseeded from themid 1970's by locality studies which majored on economic restructuring. The remergence ofcommunity studies in the 1990's
Communitarians often assume or assert that the spirit of community needs to be rebuilt.Is it true that community spirit has died out or is this mere nostalgia? Are (post)modernpeople irretreviably privatised? Some key empirical studies are reviewed (includingreferences to the authors own work). Are neighbourhood relations alive and well? Who dopeople turn to for support? The work of Abrams and Bulmer, Wilmott etc. in the UK, ofWellman and associates in N.America. Social anthropology introduces notions of networkanalysis. Implications for the communitarian project.
Modern cities have a wide range of overlapping communities as a result of migration andmobility. People often find their first order identity solidarity in ethnic, religious orlifestyle communities, which may or may not be geographically segregated. How should weanalyse this diversity? How does ethnicity operate. Review of a number of studies ofminority groups and neighbourhoods in UK and elsewhere. Is it possible, or desirable tobuild broad based community in the midst of such pluralism?
If local communities are fragmenting in the post modern world globalisation of theeconomy and information networks is also increasingly obvious. Can the new technologies,such as the Internet, support local communities, or build new "communities withoutpropinquity", or will they simply be channels for the dissemination of a globalculture based on Disney and McDonalds. Is the nostalgic notion of community going to bemarketed in a range of virtual reality theme parks and museums?
Do we really want or need "community"? Does it need to be local and face toface? Can community bring justice to the poor and marginalised? Does communitarianism (ala Etzioni) rest on solid ethical and sociological bases? What of citizen's / human rightsand responsibilities? Is it possible to rebuild community, or will communitarianism simplybecome a nostalgic political slogan for both left and right? Or will the underlyingeconomic, technological and social trends bury the notion of local community for good? Ifpostmodernism's thesis of fragmentaion and pick and mix culture is correct, it seemsunlikely that there can be any basis for shared values and community life. If modernitycontinues individualism and economic rationality run counter to the spirit of community.
Community can only be revived on the basis of age old values about human nature andresponsibility for neighbours. Is there any hope of such values becoming widely shared? Inthe light of these values and current social reality, what practical steps can policymakers, community practitioners and citizens take if they want to strengthen communities?The book will conclude with the autor's manifesto for community development.
Publications and Internet resources
As the twentieth century comes to a close a new political orthodoxy seems to beemerging on both sides of the Atlantic. The political philosophy of communitarianism, madepopular on both sides of by Etzioni and the Communitarian Network in the USA, and by theDemos think tank in the UK is being taken up in sound-bites if not so clearly in policy,by politicians of Left and Right. As a middle way between the individualism of the freemarket ideology of the 1980s and the failed state collectivism of the Soviet Empire it hasmuch to recommend it, both electorally and in terms of local action. In the trinity ofvirtues of the French revolution the emphasis is placed neither on liberty nor equalitybut on "fraternity" or as we might translate it into less sexist language"solidarity". The key attraction is in the warm glow of the word"community", for it is a brave person who contests the desirability of a termwhich speaks of belonging, locality, social harmony and co-operation.
However while it is easy to be broadly supportive of the communitarian vision itremains necessary to pose some critical questions. Is there not a danger that"community" can be used ideologically as the emphasis on solidarity serves tomask the citizen's loss of liberty and reduced chances of equality? There are questions,too about the emphasis on responsibilities and civic duties as opposed to rights, andabout the possibility of common core values in the context of plural, fragmented urbansociety. Is it possible to "(re)build community" in the postmodern world wherelocal neighbourhood belonging and class consciousness is being replaced by individuallyselected and flexible identities which often transcend geography?
This book aims to explore the concept of "community" and"communitarianism" from a variety of perspectives including those of classicalsociological theory, the tradition of community studies, social network analysis, andcurrent debates on social policy and community development. The discussion is set in thecontext of the rapidly emerging global information society and the millenial sense ofcrisis which has been called by some "the end of history" but which can moremodestly be described as the collapse of modernity.
The book emerges from the author's experience of twenty years of community work andsocial research in an inner city part of London. In that time I have worked on researchprojects which raise questions about the concept of community in a (post)modern urbansetting, and which address policy issues in community development, the voluntary sectorand care in the community. The book arose from the author's concern to set such appliedresearch and community involvement in an adequate theoretical framework, and to helpcolleagues grapple with some of the important underlying issues which shape the context oftheir work. It is informed by an extensive reading of the academic literature in the fieldof community studies. However there is no intention to cover in any great detail thegrowing philosophical and political literature around the concept of communitarianism.
The title is problematic. The book is fundamentally a critical introduction to theconcept of community rather than a guide to the philosophy and politics ofcommunitarianism. The themes of "brother's keeper" and "who is myneighbour?" are as old as the Bible and are thoroughly covered in a century ofsociological literature. However it is the importance of communitarianism in the late1990's that make the book timely and relevant. I suggest one should hyphenate the titlethus "community - ariansim", and hope that any theologically literate readerwill spot a cheeky reference to an ancient Christian heresy! However, I make no claim tothe status of Athanasius, and one should not expect the conclusion of the study to be anauthoritative credal orthodoxy setting a framework for belief and action for the next twomillenia. My response to communitarianism will be questioning and provisional, and thedialogue with it will be something of a love -hate relationship. As we shall see, valuesdrawn from the historical and Biblical Christian tradition will be far from irrelevant tothe discussion.
The book, like others in the series is intended as an introductory text aimed atundergraduate sociologists / social scientists / urban geographers. It should also be ofvalue to community professionals (such as social workers, health visitors, planners,community workers, clergy etc.) especially during initial training or on postgraduatetaught courses. Policy makers, local government officers and community activists wouldalso find it valuable.
I would like to thank my employers Aston Charities Trust for allowing be to set asidethe time needed for writing this book and for sponsoring much of the research on which itis based. Various academic friends and colleagues have contributed ideas in informaldiscussions and correspondence over the years. Foremost among them are David Lyon, BobHolman, Keith White, and Ken Leech. My links with the University of East London have beenimportant in providing library and computing resources, and access to Census data. Much ofthe original research referred to has only been possible because of the unpaid help ofvarious students on placement from the university and also from the London HospitalMedical College, as well as the local volunteers who have helped as interviewers innumerous community surveys.
I also wish to thank the people of Newham, especially those who have responded toinnumerable questionnaires and interviews, and among whom I have lived and worked for somany years. In particular I owe a debt of gratitude to the network of neighbours in ClaudeRoad and the Christian community in the neighbourhood which supports our family life, insituations ranging from the emotional stress of a child's illness to the practical task'sof feeding Judy Rabbit and Winnie Guinea Pig when we are on holiday. Finally I need tothank my family, Jane, Marcus and Martha, not forgetting Hannah from next door who have ina special way introduced me to new dimensions of the concept and practice of community.
These pages prepared by David Wilcox dwilcox@pavilion.co.uk September 18 1996
http://www.communities.org.uk/greg/gsum.html