Communities, Societies and Globalization.

Jermaine Smith

Sociology

5/6/07

Communities, Societies and Globalization

Throughout the reading, the definition of community has remained elusive. However many of the aspects that go into making up communities have come to light. The problem is that the things that it would take to make a truly great community are the opposites of what it to takes to have a great society. These factors also serve to make globalization almost impossible. But as we know nothing is impossible.

Ferdinand Tonnies, who seems to be the overwhelming authority on the subject, firmly asserted the idea that true community could only be realized when the system and the people can come together because being together is right and that shared value unify more than any other system in play. The people must believe that ends serve the common good. The people must always be willing to work to make the community better for all who were born in it as well as those who choose to emigrate there. This is where the problem seems to lie. In many communities of our past, the “outsider” is always the feared element. The persons or people who have tried to become a part of a society have been met with many forms of discrimination. This type of atmosphere leads to the breakdown of the community as a whole because instead of all the people working for the common good, they work to protect what they have against change. In this situation it may be a case of the community creating its own end. Community of memory, which was a concept developed by Robert Bellah and accepted as true, says that a community is often bound by a common history or struggle to become what it is. The people within the community remember what it took to create this ideal and are not eager to share the wealth with those who did not help to create it.

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It is the ability to allow change within the system that would allow the community to continue to prosper. The community as a whole would have to understand that with the incorporations of new people into the fold, there is an opportunity to enhance the culture. The ideas and values of the outsider would be used not only to help make this person more comfortable but to help the community realize new aspects of itself. In many cases it would lead to new way of thinking about what it is to be a success. It might give a new or more diverse perception of family. If the community does not have this ability to change, the people will always opt for things stay the way they are. And that is what we call the status quo, which is what keeps many societies afloat.

This may seem like a biased way to proceed into the concept of society, but it is necessary. Society seems to take the idea of community and take away the feeling. This may seem harsh but I do see a reason. Feeling creates bias; society tries to counteract this with law. In our society it law that tries to assure that everyone gets a fair chance. The fact is that law can only do so much; it may still be undermined by the will of one. I do feel that these biases are the worst remnants of the communities that came before. Tonnies believed that entities such “ethnic communities” were actually just a factor of society. I believe this to be true. I also believe that the “ethnic community” is one of the first signs of a true community’s breakdown. The outsiders will be given a part of town to call their own. They will have access to the resources of the community but it will be limited access. This separation leads to discrimination against certain groups.

One of the major kinks in our society is that we refuse to believe that one individual can undermine our laws. Laws are a societies way to remove guilt about the fact that everyone is not really getting a fair shot. The law is how we curtail the feelings that would destroy a community as well as a society; it is unfathomable to most that it does not work. The reality is that people are going to let the feelings guide them. If these feelings lead one to follow the law, great, but feelings will also lead many to break the law.

Society also promotes the idea of individualism. It tells each member of the society that he or she has the ability to do whatever he or she wants. This idea takes the weight off of the society to take care of its people and places it square on the shoulders of the individual. This leads the individual to assume all the responsibility if he or she should fail. Many people realize that the chips are stacked against them say so. Those who stacked the chips often call these people whiners. We all see the news that says that our inner cities are disintegrating, but the people who have the ability to make the changes blame the downtrodden for their own problems. And they do bear some blame, but hasn’t society let them down as well? In the eyes of many that is not the case, anyone has as good of a chance to fail as to succeed. In reality how much better of a shot do you have if start from the penthouse and not the projects.

Globalization is my final topic. It deals with the idea of all the governments in the world working for the good of all humanity. In other words it is idea of a worldwide community. There are many aspect of community which work against this idea. The most obvious problem is the community of memory. Throughout our history war has shaped the type of people we are. Many places in the world are still fighting because of ancient grudges. The people are not willing to let past aggression go because of the promise of a better life for all.

Another problem facing this idea is the inherent distrust of outsiders. The people of the world would have to be willing to work together. If you don’t believe that this extremely difficult, just look around the neighborhood in which you live. Look to see if you can find any place where all cultures are welcome equally and the members embrace each other the same way. It is a fear of the unknown that has held back our growth as a people.

Technology is also a factor that works against globalization. It allows people to move farther and farther away from each other. This is evident today in the forms of cars, phones, e-mail and other devices. It is also hurtful that many great leaps in technology have been brought about because war. We are a people obsessed with finding better ways to slaughter each other.

For these reasons I feel that globalization is way off. I also believe that there are a few things that could help force the issue. One would be the emergence of a leader with ability to bring about a great change in thinking. This may well be far off. But there is another way. I believe that it would take a great peril that would be faced by all. This, I fear, is not that far off. We are constantly moving toward a society that can benefit all rather than a community that would benefit all.

Communities, Society and Globalization