Soceitical Types. . . .What kind would you prefer?

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Gemeinschaft is a definition of a small, intensely bonded group that exerts control over its members through social means. A small, rural community where everyone knows everyone is an excellent example of Gemienschaft. Gossip and rumor are a specific part of the means of control. A high school (normally) is an example of an Gemeinschaft group one might have experienced.

Gellschaft is an large group that is loosely bonded and controls its members by using the roles of its members. Typically exemplified by large, urban areas were nobody seems to know each other. Use of social hierarchy, such as the deferring (or expected deferring) of common laborers to management, etc, for social control. A college (normally) is an example of a Gellshchaft group one might have experienced.



If you had the option, which sort of society would you choose?


Most of the states in the Americas are clearly Gellschaft and I’m guessing most of Europe as well. I think some of our Australian members and Scandinavian members are from Gemeinschaft societies, but I can’t be absolutely certain.

When I said high school was an example of an Gemeinschaft and college was a Gellschaft, I based them on my experiences. This clearly may not hold true for other members, particularly for those not stateside.

My HS experience was pretty good. I liked some of the bonds I made (few and tenuous they may be!) and I enjoyed the intellectual experience. But it always unsettled me to have someone walk up to me, tell me my name (in conversation) and other details that I knew I personally had never told them. Generally, I got the feeling that more people knew about me than I knew other people. Minor incidents like these really got on my nerves, but I did like the friendliness of everyone and I could handle the occasional rumor or incident about me.

My college experience has been pretty interesting so far. The first year, I went to the metro campus downtown partly because I knew nobody from my school would be going there. I wanted to specifically escape those who knew me for reasons I don’t really understand. Unfortantly, I was bored silly out of my mind by the work, and I frequently wanted to see someone if only to hear them babble on about the past. At the same time I felt more liberated than I ever had, because there were literally no internal/external constraints on my behavior whatsoever. I could be as flamboyant as I wished in the classroom (and I am!) and remain as quiet outside of it as I can without having to portray even a reasonably consistent image of myself to the world. I would do what I wanted, and it would be forgotten almost immediately. The only rule was that I work hard as a student and do well on my schoolwork.


Ideally, I would prefer some combination of the two. I would like to be part of both kinds of groups, but I think I would have a decided preference for Gellschaft. I can pick my social contacts on my own terms (to a degree) and I find simple roles somewhat easier to fulfill. These roles are temporary and I can even experiment with them as I go, whereas in a Gemeinschaft, I would have to play one role full time without chance for error and I find that too difficult.

Gemeinschaft is destructive.
This is the main force where I work. It is not enough for me to do a good job, I also have to pretend I like people who do bad things and pretend to be afraid of people I recognize as bullies. I am disabled in this setting because I do not form bonds easily.
And these are people who work in mental health.
Universities are combinations of both. Power is defined by role, but people also form small cliques which tend to have something called political power. These cliques have power because they often form the basis of committees which control resources, or hiring committes which control who gets into what roles. The tenure process is particularly interesting because one of the requirements is that you are well known, which you can do through outstanding research (rare) or networking so people are aware of your work.
I would like to live in a society where people are free to form whatever kinds of bonds they want as long as they are not destructive or exclusive.
No such thing, I think. Everything I have seen in my life is a combination of the two.

Yes, because the two are "Normal Types". real life is more of a syntheis.


*edited to change from ideal type to normal type. My mistake.

What strange words, I have always called my out look on life as pack orientated so I guess that fits Gemeinschaft. But I need a smaller group then high school. Like 10 I would be happy with 10 people I could stand. And no social crap **coughs** control.

At least in Gellshaft the hierarchy is written down somewhere.

I put both. Kinda hard to have society without each of them.

Both seem crap. I don't like control, especially when it isn't earnt. I prefer Democracy, where everyone has an equal say in things, regardless of status.

Sadly, it seems true democracy is a dying concept. People talk about democracy everyday, but nobody seems to know what it means anymore. Nor do they realise how far from true democracy our societies have really become. Every second that passes, our lives are more under the control of police states and massive undemocratic corporations. Politicians just talk for public image, not for what they actually believe in like they did 50 years ago.

For many, democracy means "I can make as much money as I like, how I like, where I like, and sod everyone else". This is not true democracy. Democracy is a process that involves the entire community, and goes beyond just personal freedom.

Look at the polls, guys. Fewer than 30% of young people bother to vote in elections in the UK. Get your act together. Get out and vote and make your voice heard, because in 30 years, you could find that you no longer have that privelidge. As they say: "When people stop believing in Democracy, it ceases to exist".

I do not understand this poll at all.