Gemeinschaft, Communitas and other communities

Abstract

Nowadays, two concepts of community collide in the world of thought and through our intellectual debates. The first one, the traditional idea of community, is a heritage of romantic ideas on community, and has been articulated by the pioneers of social science with the concept of Gemeinschaft. This expressive concept of community establishes that our being in common consists in self-expression of an intimacy bond and plenty sense of belonging. The second concept of community is debt to contemporary thinkers (like Jean-Luc Nancy or Roberto Esposito), who explore the meaning of the communitas as an experience of disclosure to the others and exposure of our singular and plural condition.