The Fate of Community: Theoretical change from the era of Herder to the Present Age

当代人面临一个困境：越是追求共同体，越是求之不得。这个困境的本质是当代社会中确定性和自由之间的矛盾。要理解这一张力，必须回到早期现代性的境况加以考察。本文梳理了共同体理论从赫尔德到，当代的变局，以揭示共同体如何逐步演变成当代的形貌。总体来看，共同体概念在社会理论中的地位经历了一个逐步"降格"的过程。整个过程可以概括为三种格局的两歩变化：第一步从“共同体作为统领原则”的格局变为“共同体与社会”对立的格局，第二步从“共同体与社会”对立的格局变为“社会中的共同体”格局。格局之变实际上反映了现代性的不断深化，确定性与自由的矛盾在人的体验中日突出。

???People in the contemporary era have to face a dilemma: The more you pursue community, the less likely to achieve it. The essence of this dilemma is the contradiction between security and freedom in contemporary society. To understand this tension, we must return to the early views of modernity. This paper examines the theoretical change on community from the era of Herder to the present age, in order to reveal the conceptual change of community. Overall, the concept of community in social theory has undergone a gradual “downgrading” process. In the view of Herder, community is a guiding principle above economy and society, which served as the highest form of life. In the view of Tnnies, community was reduced to the opposite of rational state and capitalistcivil society, and the society was predominant over community. From the Chicago School to contemporary theories, community downgraded further to a partial struggle under rational state and capitalistcivil society. The whole process can be summarized as changes in two steps of three patterns: the first step is from the “community as a guide principle” to “community vs. society”; the second step is from “community vs. society” to “community in society”. The change of patterns actually reflects the deepening of modernity and the increasing contradiction between security and freedom in human experience.???

李荣山

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