Communitarianism
Identity and value take shape within shared relationships, histories, and practices.
What it claims
Communitarianism criticizes the picture of an unencumbered self standing prior to its ends and freely selecting or discarding every attachment. Sandel argues that family, language, religion, and history can partly constitute identity rather than merely supply optional preferences. MacIntyre diagnoses modern moral language as fragments detached from the traditions and purposes that once made it intelligible, helping explain persistent disagreement.
Nearby positions
Goes together with
Opposed to
Key thinkers
Michael J. Sandel · Alasdair MacIntyre · Charles Taylor · Michael Walzer