8/14/2019 Racial Communitarianism

1/3

Racial Communitarianism

Pejorative and positive are both its connotations. Racial Communitarianism is

also an ages old phenomenon dating back to Platos and Aristotelian ideas where

economic well being, opportunities, political power and justice (or rights) flow fromvirtue and philosophy. Though their concept slightly differs from what we have especially

after the beginning of the disintegration of socialism in the last quarter of twentieth

century.

In the present-day context, questions of ethnicity, identity and an individuals

rights vis--vis the institution of democratic State are the core issues of

Communitarianism and Racial Communitarianism both.

This is a post-post-modernist development in the sense that it engulfs not only

traditions of libertarianism, modernity of civil society and peculiar amalgamation of both

these to bring forth something anew as good governance but also its quest for a balanced

form of State and social ethos.

Racial Communitarianism thus reflects a search and global movement for equal

respect and opportunities to people of all races in the pursuance of their duties as human

beings and citizens of a global civil society. Rights will then be natural corollary of duties

so performed professionally.

On the pejorative side, racial communitarianism depicts and highlights racial

exploitation, alienation and impropriety of balance between rights and duties of citizens.

Communitarianism is also an attempt to work towards fighting various apparently

fascist tendencies of libertarianism such as overarching power channels and structures

like the Security Council of the United Nations and the all powerful stature of the

President of United States despite inherent checks and balances in the political system.

Communitarianism is, indeed, an emerging movement to go beyond the shackles

of a sovereign nation-state. It is moving ahead into the realms of a global civil society

tackling a number of its issues and problems on its own without always looking up to the

State for all its solution.

Standing on ones own feet, preserving ones self-respect, economic and

multicultural empowerment alongwith individual based and logically viable social and

strategic security network are major issues and challenges of communitarianism.

Anurag Gangal, Communitarianism 1

8/14/2019 Racial Communitarianism

2/3

There are also anti-communitarians. For them communitarian movement is for

further curtailing individuals rights vis--vis community rights. This is not the reality of

communitarianism because the main issue of communitarianism is to secure a balanced

approach to rights, duties and justice (Raapana and Friedrich, 2008, see website).

Communitarians take issue with the idea that the

individual stands and should stand in direct unmediatedrelationship with the state and with society. This is an idea thatflows through a great deal of contemporary legal and political

thought in northern countries. Communitarians argue for the

continuing significance of status and local networks, and the

potential of other intermediate institutions (Frazer, 1999, 21-22).

Communitarianism as such has several strands and directions. Only posterity will

tell which way communitarianism goes!

Anurag Gangal, Communitarianism 2

8/14/2019 Racial Communitarianism

3/3

References:

Frazer, E. (1999) The Problem of Communitarian Politics. Unity and conflict,

Oxford: Oxford University Press.

http://nikiraapana.blogspot.com/2008/04/abstract-anti-communitarian-manifesto.html

Anurag Gangal, Communitarianism 3

http://nikiraapana.blogspot.com/2008/04/abstract-anti-communitarian-manifesto.htmlhttp://nikiraapana.blogspot.com/2008/04/abstract-anti-communitarian-manifesto.html