Concept of Community

The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of community in American life, as well as discuss various aspects of commitment between people in this country, as outlined in the book, Habits of the Heart.

The term "community" is clearly defined by the book's authors, who use the word with a very specific meaning in mind. Whereas a community tries to be an inclusive whole, in celebration of the interdependence of public and private life and of the different callings of all, the term "lifestyle" is basically segmental and celebrates similarity, not differences, which is why the latter term is not favored by the authors (72).

"Lifestyle enclaves" is an interesting term used in the book to denote what is essentially an outgrowth of the sectoral organization of American life, which has resulted from the emergence of the national market (due to industrialization). For a long time in American twentieth-century history, private life and leisure time and leisure consumption patterns were basically expressions of one's social status, which in turn was linked to social class and category, as happens in more traditional societies. However, the authors feel that as social status and class came to depend more and more on a national occupational system and less on the local community, a degree of freedom became possible in modern American private life that would not have been dreamed of in the small town or among the older, more traditional urban elite groups (73).

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tend to express a concern for human dignity, the violation of which sparks anger at the abuse of power in society, such as the social neglect which causes some people to be destitute and homeless and forces many in America to live completely without hope (162). It is typical of people in nurturing communities that they define themselves through their commitments to a variety of communities rather than through any pursuit of complete freedom. However, this is not to say that people in good communities do not exhibit a high-degree of self-determination. These people exemplify a form of rugged individualism that is fulfilled in the community environment rather than against it. Conformism, the general enemy of American individualistic spiritedness, does not seem to be a problem for those who live in nurturing and solid community environments. The involvement of such people in community activities and practices of commitment enables them to resist the pressures to conform. The authors feel that Tocqueville was right when he stated that it was isolation, not social involvement, that led to conformism and the much larger danger of manipulation by authoritarian means (162-3). Public life, as expressed in the term "community," has

Category: Psychology - C