COMMUNITARIANISM

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 463.

Communitarianism is the belief that the self or person is constituted through the *community, in the sense that individuals are shaped by the communities to which they belong and thus owe them a debt of respect and consideration – there are no ‘unencumbered selves'. Communitarianism is not an *ideology in its own right, but is, rather, a theoretical position that has been adopted by a variety of ideological traditions. Left-wing forms of communitarianism link the idea of community to the notions of unrestricted *freedom and social *equality (for example, *anarchism and utopian *socialism). Centrist forms of communitarianism hold that community is grounded in an acknowledgement of reciprocal rights and responsibilities (for example, *social democracy and Tory paternalism). Right-wing forms of communitarianism hold that community requires respect for *authority and established values (for example, neo-conservatism and, in its extreme form, *fascism). In the 1980s and 1990s, communitarianism has developed into a school of thought that articulates a particular political philosophy. In this form, associated with theorists such as Alasdair MacIntyre (1981) and Michael Sandel (1982) , it advances a specific critique of *liberalism, which highlights the damage done to the public culture of liberal societies by their emphasis upon individual rights and liberties over the needs of the community. So-called ‘high' and ‘low' forms of communitarianism are sometimes identified. The former engages primarily in philosophical debate, while the latter, whose best known figure is Amitai Etzioni (1995) , is more concerned with issues of public policy.

Significance

Communitarianism has its origins in the nineteenth-century socialist *utopianism of thinkers such as Robert Owen (1771–1858) and Peter Kropotkin (1842–1921). Indeed, a concern with community can be seen as one of the enduring themes in modern political thought, expressed variously in the socialist stress upon fraternity and cooperation, the Marxist belief in a classless communist society, the conservative view of society as an organic whole, and even the fascist commitment to an indivisible national community.

However, modern communitarianism emerged as a late twentieth-century reaction against the imbalances in modern society and political thought that have occurred through the spread of liberal *individualism. Communitarians warn that, unconstrained by social duty and a moral responsibility, individuals have been allowed or encouraged to take account only of their own interests and their own rights. In this moral vacuum, society, quite literally, disintegrates. The communitarian project thus attempts to restore to society its moral voice and, in a tradition dating back to Aristotle (384–22 BCE), to construct a ‘politics of the common good'. As a critique of laissez-faire *capitalism, communitarianism has had a growing influence upon modern liberalism and social democracy.

However, critics of communitarianism allege that it has both conservative and authoritarian implications. Communitarianism has a conservative disposition in that it amounts to a defence of existing social structures and moral codes. Feminists, for example, have criticised communitarianism for attempting to bolster traditional sex roles under the guise of defending the family. The authoritarian features of communitarianism stem from its tendency to emphasise the duties and responsibilities of the individual over his or her rights and entitlements.

CONSERVATISM

Conservatism, as a political attitude, is defined by the desire to conserve and is reflected in a resistance to, or at least suspicion of, change. However, although the desire to resist change may be the recurrent theme within conservatism, what distinguishes conservatism as an *ideology from rival political creeds is the distinctive way in which this position is upheld. The central themes of conservative ideology are *tradition, human imperfection, organic society, *authority and *property. For a conservative, tradition reflects the accumulated wisdom of the past, and institutions and practices that have been ‘tested by time'; it should be preserved for the benefit of the living and for generations yet to come. Conservatives view *human nature pessimistically in at least three senses. First, human beings are limited, dependent and security-seeking creatures; second, they are morally corrupt, tainted by selfishness, greed and a thirst for power; third, human rationality is unable to cope with the infinite complexity of the world (hence conservatives' faith in pragmatism and their preference for describing their beliefs as an ‘attitude of mind' rather than an ideology). The belief that society should be viewed as an organic whole implies that institutions and values have arisen through natural necessity and should be preserved to safeguard the fragile ‘fabric of society'. Conservatives view authority as the basis for social cohesion, arguing that it gives people a sense of who they are and what is expected of them, and reflects the hierarchical nature of all social institutions. Conservatives value property because it gives people security and a measure of independence from government, and also encourages them to respect the law and the property of others.

However, there are significant divisions within conservative thought. Authoritarian conservatism is starkly autocratic and reactionary, stressing that government ‘from above' is the only means of establishing *order, and thus contrasts with the more modest and pragmatic Anglo-American conservatism that stems from the writing of Edmund Burke (1729–97). Paternalistic conservatism draws upon a combination of prudence and principle in arguing both that ‘reform from above' is preferable to ‘revolution from below', and that the wealthy have an obligation to look after the less well-off, duty being the price of privilege. Such ideas were most influentially expressed by Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81). This tradition is most fully developed in the form of One Nation conservatism, which advocates a ‘middle way' approach to state–market relations and gives qualified support to economic management and welfarism. Libertarian conservatism advocates the greatest possible economic liberty and the least possible government regulation of social life, echoing *laissez-faire liberalism, but harnesses this to a belief in a more traditional, conservative social philosophy that stresses the importance of authority and duty. This tradition provided the basis for *New Right theories and values.

Significance

Conservative ideas and doctrines first emerged in the late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century. They arose as a reaction against the growing pace of economic and social change, which was in many ways symbolised by the French Revolution (1789). In trying to resist the pressures unleashed by the growth of *liberalism, *socialism and *nationalism, conservatism stood in defence of an increasingly embattled traditional social order. Authoritarian conservatism took root in continental Europe but was increasingly marginalised by the advance of *constitutionalism and *democracy, and eventually collapsed with the fall of *fascism, with which it had often collaborated. The Disraelian form of conservatism ultimately proved to be more successful. Using Burke's notion of ‘change in order to conserve', it allowed conservatism to adapt values such as tradition, hierarchy and authority to the emerging conditions of mass politics, thereby broadening its social and electoral base. Conservatism's remarkable resilience stems from its ideological caution and political flexibility, enabling it, at different times, to embrace welfarist and interventionist policies as manifestations of the One Nation ideal, and to advocate ‘rolling back the state' as recommended by the New Right.

Conservative thought, however, has always been open to the charge that it amounts to nothing more than ruling-class ideology. In proclaiming the need to resist change, it legitimises the status quo and defends the interests of dominant or elite groups. Other critics allege that divisions between traditional conservatism and the New Right run so deep that the conservative tradition has become entirely incoherent. In their defence, conservatives argue that they merely advance certain enduring, if at times unpalatable, truths about human nature and the societies we live in. That human beings are morally and intellectually imperfect, and seek the security that only tradition, authority and a shared culture can offer, merely underlines the wisdom of ‘travelling light' in ideological terms. Experience and history, conservatives warn, will always provide a sounder basis for political action than will abstract principles such as *freedom, *equality and *justice.