Communitarianism

Abstract

Communitarianism is a social philosophy that stresses the importance of the common good and shared common values and responsibilities over maximization of individual autonomy. There are three major strains of communitarians: East Asian, academic, and responsive. Responsive communitarians believe that strong rights presume strong responsibilities and emphasize noncoercive means of influence to promote social cohesion. Responsive communitarians have promoted the concept of moral dialogues as a tool toward new or reformulated shared normative understandings. This article outlines the fundamentals of communitarianism and provides examples of applying responsive communitarian principles to practical policy in areas such as bioethics and national security.