Talk:Communitarianism/Archive 1

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Communitarianism is a philosophical movement of the late 20th century which opposes certain aspects of liberalism and capitalism and advocating phenomena such as civil society. Authors usually included are:

Any reason why this is not mentioned on this page? Is it just because no one has so far got round to including it? And isn't the current title of the page misleading? --KF 21:47 17 May 2003 (UTC)

I only split this article up from communism today!! Give me a chance! :)
Why would the current title be misleading? :-/ Martin 22:41 17 May 2003 (UTC)
Well, simply beause communists and communitarians are two completely different sets of people. They've also got two different names. The first sentence of this article creates the impression that the two terms can be used synonymously, which is just not true. I'm not going to interfere in the article, and as far as I'm concerned, you've got all the time in the world. :) --KF 07:26 18 May 2003 (UTC)

Here is the article I removed from the page. I removed it for two reasons. First -- the main reason -- is that it is just not about "communitarianism," as KF very clearly and correctly points out. Second, it has some specific problems I will make comments interspersed: Slrubenstein

It seems I am misusing technical terminology - I would be indebted if you would correct the article and educate me on the subject... :) Martin
Martin, did you write this? I thought that you were doing some housecleaning on the communism article and knew enough that this material should go elsewhere, but just didn't know for sure where to put it. My sense is it should just be deleted, but I am no expert on "communitarianism" and I would leave that for others. I just know enough about economics and communism to know what is false in the passages. As for educating -- well, for communism I think the articles on communism and on Karl Marx are pretty good right now. FDor communitarianism I think KF gave you a lot of good leads, although he left off Amitai Etzioni who really is crucial. Sorry that I don't have more time to "educate" you, but I am sure if you want to contribute to an encyclopedia article you will do the necessary research first ;) Slrubenstein

In economics, communitarianism or communism is any system in which property is shared by a community or owned in common.

This is just not true. Communism and communitarianism are two different things; also, there are a variety of ways that property may be owned in common -- a commune (which implies neither communism nor comunitarianism, necissarily) is one way, a corporation is another. Slrubenstein

Thus the fundamentalist Christians, many Native Americans, and most aboriginals are said to practice a form of communism. (For example see the Taborites). Communes are small groups that attempt to live according to communitarianism.

Said by whom? Passive voice here means obfuscation.Slrubenstein

Anarcho-communism often predicts that, following the removal of the state, communitarian systems will naturally emerge. By contrast, anarcho-capitalism predicts that the notion of property will be retained or strengthened further. Marxism and related communist philosophies argue that communitarianism will emerge naturally following the dictatorship of the proletariat and a communist state, though this has yet to occur in practice.

I do not know of any anarchists who use the term "communitarian." In any event, this stuff belongs on either the anarchist page or the communist page.Slrubenstein

One potential downside of shared property is the tragedy of the commons.

Maybe true, but vague. The tragedy of the communes is very specific, it is not a critique of communism or any principal of communal ownership or communitarianism; it describes what happens to community property in a capitalist economy in transition.Slrubenstein

The book The Dispossessed gives an example of a communitarian system, where one does not own a hanky, but merely carries and uses it.

To my knowledge, the book does not identify what it describes as "communitarian."Slrubenstein

communitarianism

Communitarianism is the philosophy, the theology, the political theory, and the legal system for all new "community governments." Communitarian laws are used to overturn archaic constitutional laws. "Local" communitarian councils and committees are created to balance national and local laws against the "common good." Communitarian policymakers use consensus, visionings, sustainable devlopment, and crime-prevention efforts to enforce communitarian regulations. For a thorough anti-communitarian slant, please visit the Anti-Communitarian League website: http://nord.twu.net/acl, or http://www.acl.us.tt. Niki Raapana

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