The idea of community refers to a set of individuals. A group of people or animals can form a community as long as they have some element between them that unites them. Thus, the Hispanic community has a common language, culture and history, a group of apes that form a community because they share kinship ties forming a clan.
Several ways to understand the concept
Human beings are social by nature and normally their type of society is heterogeneous, as people of different social conditions, races and inclinations live in it. In this sense, it can be said that a country is a community of citizens. On the other hand, people who live in a specific territory form a community, as they have cultural and social ties that unite them.
Certain groups isolate themselves from the plural society and create their own communities
This is the case with some ecclesiastical orders (for example, the order of the Augustinian Recollects), with certain religiously inspired groups (for example, the Amish) or with groups that share a way of life (for example, the hippies).
Hobbies and sports are usually accompanied by the creation of communities, for example, fans of a football team or philately clubs.
Currently, there are communities in a virtual sense (groups of friends through social networks or whatsapp). The virtual community concept added a new dimension to human groups linked by their affinities and interests. The virtual world has multiplied the possibilities of human communities .
The ideology Communist is based largely on the idea of community. According to communist thinking , humanity must aspire to a life without inequalities. Anarchist ideology also has a criterion of community (it is associated with the idea that everything belongs to everyone). There are ideological approaches that oppose the community, in fact, liberalism defends individualism against any collective temptation.
Professional groups create institutions that group them together in a cohesive way, for example, unions or professional colleges.
We have an individuality, but at the same time we live in a community dimension.
In this sense, Aristotle already affirmed in the IV century; C that man is a social being and that only animals or gods can live outside society.
The fact of belonging to a community means a form of organization, management , conflicts and the establishment of regulations that facilitate the personal relationships created.
There is a general consensus that democracy is the most adequate form of government for coexistence within a community. This system is based on the principle that all citizens have the same rights and obligations and therefore live on an equal footing before the law.
The sense of community allows human beings to overcome their individuality. In fact, the concepts of clan, nation or culture are based on the collective sense, that is, on what we share and allow us to be part of a group.
The concept of community can also be found in the natural sciences (for example, an ecosystem as a medium in which some species are related) or in the social sciences (anthropologists study social clans and sociologists analyze the structures of certain groups).
