Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft is Ferdinand Tonnies's 1887 distinction between two ideal types of social bond. Gemeinschaft (community) is sustained by shared feeling, kinship and tradition as ends in themselves; Gesellschaft (society) is sustained by rational calculation and individual self-interest, most visible in modern market and bureaucratic relations. The pair became one of classical sociology's standard ways of describing the shift from traditional to modern social life.
Facts
Core ClaimSourced to the subject's own accountSocial groupings can be classified by whether members' wills serve the group's own shared goal as an end in itself (Gemeinschaft) or serve each member's individual aims, with the group merely instrumental to them (Gesellschaft). 1 Origin YearSourced to the subject's own account Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Ferdinand Tonnies
WikipediaConcepts sectionQuote, Concepts section
Gemeinschaft, often translated as community, refers to groups based on feelings of togetherness and mutual bonds, which are felt like a goal to be kept up, their members being means for this goal. Gesellschaft, often translated as society, on the other hand, refers to groups that are sustained by it being instrumental for their members' aims and goals.
Wikipedia: Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft
WikipediaLead section, German pronunciation guideQuote, Lead section, German pronunciation guide
Gemeinschaft (German pronunciation) and Gesellschaft, generally translated as community and society, are categories used by Ferdinand Toennies.
Atlas Relation Vocabulary
SocietyAtlas (internal)In Category: Social Theory and Concepts
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