Community - (Key Concepts) by J Toby Reiner (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

People often yearn for a sense of belonging and connection: they long to live in a meaningful community. In the modern age, however, this often seems to be a chimera. Does modernity doom us to be atomised individuals? Does the promise of community imply a loss of autonomy and freedom and entrench inequality and hierarchy?

In this book, J. Toby Reiner examines the debates surrounding community in modern political and social thought. He outlines how liberals, conservatives, socialists, and nationalists have historically conceived of the ties that bind together political communities, and how recent political philosophers such as Rawls, Taylor, Walzer, and Sandel have debated the nature and merits of community in the contemporary world. He goes on to consider how prominent conceptions of community relate to and are in tension with characteristically modern ideals such as equality and freedom. He deftly shows how a meaningful conception of community can be reconciled with the demands of modern liberal societies.

Filled with real-life examples and thought-provoking discussions of the key debates, this book will be essential reading for students of contemporary political theory and philosophy and of sociology.

Review Quotes

"J. Toby Reiner skilfully connects the subject matter to current debates between Republicans and Democrats in the U.S., as well as the discourse between pro- and anti-migration camps in Europe, which can be viewed through the lens of how we understand the individual, citizenship, and community. This makes the book timely, well-written, coherent, and engaging."
Avner de-Shalit, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

"Reiner's book offers a carefully argued exposition of a modern communitarian case for making a certain type of community life central to social and political consideration. This is done with scholarly adroitness and intellectual balance."
Henry Tam, author of Communitarianism

"J. Toby Reiner's incisive and well-written book provides a concise, detailed analytic and historical review of the concept of community in Western politics and political theory. Taking his bearings from Michael Walzer's work, Reiner makes deft and helpful use of concrete examples in his review of the major themes and debates. This is a volume that will be accessible to undergraduates but is substantive enough to engage the most advanced student of the topic. Highly recommended."
Andrew Norris, author of Becoming Who We Are: Politics and Practical Philosophy in the Work of Stanley Cavell (Oxford University Press)

About the Author

J. Toby Reiner is Associate Professor of Political Science at Dickinson College and the author of Michael Walzer (Polity, 2020).