Communities of Individuals: Liberalism, Communitarianism and Sartre’s Anarchism

This title was first published in 2001: This book examines the liberal-communitarian debate from a new perspective. Communitarians argue that liberal theory neglects the significance of communities for the lives of their members. An examination of that argument reveals that there are deficiencies in the communitarian account of community. Identifying and remedying those deficiencies is the key concern of this book. Uniquely, this book addresses the deficiencies using Sartre’s anarchist theory derived largely but not exclusively from an interpretation of the Critique of Dialectical Reason. Sartre champions the individual yet criticises liberalism. The tension arising from these two apparently disparate positions makes for a fruitful argument, enhanced by the connections made with Aristotelian and feminist theory, Hobbes and Rousseau. Finally, a method is developed for inquiring into the nature of associations which, it is argued, should interest communitarians concerned to avoid deficiencies in their account of community.