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Communitarianism: Communitarianism in philosophy emphasizes the importance of communal values, shared responsibilities, and the well-being of the community as a whole. It contrasts with individualism, emphasizing individual interests and not so much the social cohesion.
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Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments.

 
Author Concept Summary/Quotes Sources

Richard Dagger on Communitarianism - Dictionary of Arguments

Gaus I 167
Communitarianism/republicanism/Dagger: Communitarianism and republicanism are closely related schools of thought - so closely related that friend and foe alike sometimes conflate them.
CommunitarianismVsLiberalism/RepublicanismVsLiberalism: Both the emergence of communitarianism and the revival of republicanism in recent years stem from an uneasiness with liberalism. In both cases the fiundamental complaint is that liberalism is guilty of an excessive or misguided emphasis on the rights and liberties of the individual that 'nurtures a socially corrosive form of individualism' (Newman, 1989(1): 254). Some communitarians and republicans advance their theories as alternatives to liberalism, while others take themselves to be restoring or reviving the concern for community or civic life that once informed liberal theory and practice.
Communitarianism/Dagger: communitarians (...) seem to be joined more by a common impulse or longing than by agreement on shared principles. As a result (...) communitarians have been vulnerable to three charges:
1) that their objections to liberal theory are largely misconceived;
2) that they have no clear alternative to offer, largely because they fail to define 'community' in a precise or useful way; and
3) that the vague alternative they do offer runs the risk of imposing stifling conformity, or worse, on society.
There is, in addition, the embarrassment that some of the most prominent scholars to wear the communitarian label have either abandoned communitarianism or denied that the label ever truly fitted them. >Republicanism/Dagger
, >Communitarianism/Political Philosophy.
Gaus I 173
Reactions on criticisms: Sandel (...) has decided that 'republican' better defines his position than 'communitarian' and MacIntyre has denied, quite forcefully, that he is or ever was a communitarian. Others have embraced the communitarian label, but their rejoinders to 'liberal' criticisms stress their desire to strike a balance between individual rights and civic responsibilities (Etzioni, 1996)(2) in order to 'move closer to the ideal of community life' - a life in which 'we learn the value of integrating what we seek individually with the needs and aspirations of other people' (Tam, 1998(3): 220, emphasis added).
Political communitarianism: In contrast to MacIntyre, Sandel, Walzer, and Taylor, these
'political communitarians' (Frazer, 1999)(4) are less concerned with philosophical criticism of liberalism or individualism than with moving closer to the ideal of community life by reviving civil society. They hope to do this, in particular, by calling attention to shared values and beliefs, encouraging active and widespread participation in civic life, and bringing politics down to the local, properly 'human' level (Frazer, 1999(4): 41-2). The key question for these 'political' communitarians is whether 'the ideal of community life' is precise and powerful enough to do the work they want it to do.
VsCommunitarianism: Whether 'philosophical' or 'political' , communitarianism is too vague to be helpful and too accommodating to be acceptable. Communities take a great many forms, including some - such as fascist or Nazi communes - that communitarians themselves must find unpalatable or intolerable. >Communitarianism/Sandel, >Communitarianism/Political Philosophy.

1. Newman, Stephen (1989) 'Challenging the liberal individualist tradition in America: "community" as a critical ideal in recent political theory'. In A. C. Hutchinson and L. J. M. Green, eds, Law and the Community: The End of Individualism? Toronto: Carswell.
2. Etzioni, Amitai (1996) The New Golden Rule: Community and Morality in Democratic Society. New York: Basic.
3. Tam, Henry (1998) Communitarianism: A New Agenda for Politics and Citizenship. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
4. Frazer, Elizabeth (1999) The Problems of Communitarian Politics: Unity and Conflict. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Dagger, Richard 2004. „Communitarianism and Republicanism“. In: Gaus, Gerald F. & Kukathas, Chandran 2004. Handbook of Political Theory. SAGE Publications

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Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments
The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition.
Dagger, Richard
Gaus I
Gerald F. Gaus
Chandran Kukathas
Handbook of Political Theory London 2004


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