According to the sociologist Ferdinand Tonnies there is two main types of societies. There is Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft. Both are German words. Gemeinschaft means commune or community. Gesellscaft means association. Overall, gemeinschaft relates to a small community were everyone knows one another by a first name basis. Gesellschaft relates to a more urban society were relationships are more impersonal.
In a gemeinschaft society everyone knows everyone else. All the people play a role and they all support each other. There is a strong sense of togetherness in a gemeinschaft. On the other hand in a gesellschaft, people know each other on an impersonal level. They also don't have a strong sense of togetherness and they don't work as one big group.
There are both advantages and disadvantages living in a gemeinschaft. The advantages are: safety, friendship, strong bonds with other members and there is always support. A gemeinschaft is safe because it's a smaller......
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Approximate Word Count: 577
Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |