Natural and Political Conceptions of Community demonstrates how the early modern Jesuits recruited the household community when reflecting on the political community, integrating an account of human nature with a notion of politics as the sphere of law, rights, and virtues.

Despite the growing interest in the political, economic, legal and international thought of the late scholastics, the household - communitas oeconomica - has not been subject to scholarly enquiry. This is an oversight because the household, in their thought, was a phenomenon at the intersection of all of the above approaches. 0Natural and Political Conceptions of Community is about Jesuit political thought viewed through the lens of their theories about the household community. It consequently explores the relationship and overlap between natural communities and political communities and how the Jesuits interpreted these issues in their theoretical works.

This book explores the metaphysics of political communities. It discusses how and why a plurality of individuals becomes a political unity, what principles or forces keep that unity together, and what threats that unity can be faced with. In Part I, the author justifies the need for the notion of substance in metaphysics in general and in the metaphysics of politics in particular. He spells out a moderately realist theory of substances and of their principles of unity, which supports substantial gradualism. Part II concerns action theory and the nature of practical reason. The author claims that the acknowledgement of reasons by agents is constitutive of action and that normativity depends on the role of the good in the formation of reasons. Finally, in Part III the author addresses the notion of political community. He claims that the principle of unity of a political community is its authority to give members of the community moral reasons for action. This suggests a middle way between liberal individualism and organicism, and the author demonstrates the significance of this view by discussing current political issues such as the role of religion in the public sphere and the political significance of cultural identity. Authority and the Metaphysics of Political Communities will be of interest to researchers and advanced students working in social metaphysics, political philosophy, philosophy of action, and philosophy of the social sciences.

"Community" is a basic concept, perhaps the basic concept, in social science and in social philosophy. Its meanings are many and varied, yet it is pre-eminent in discussions of man and his world. The editors of this book have selected material from many sources in an attempt to explore the meaning and relevance of the idea of community as it is used in social science, political commentary, and general literature. The book is organized around four basic problems: What aspect of social life is community? What is the character of community in different settings? What is the relationship of politics to community? What is the prospect for community in today's changing world? To answer these questions, the editors have drawn from historical and contemporary sources in political philosophy, empirical social science, anthropology, sociology, history, political science, and ancient and modern literature (e.g., Isaac Bashevis Singer, C. P. Snow, Lawrence Durrell, and others)--all reflecting a broad spectrum of attitudes and approaches. Community is considered in both Western and non-Western societies. The editors introduce each chapter of the book with a critique and provide the reader with an informed general commentary. Including some of the classic statements on the meaning and importance of "community" while drawing upon new sources of insight, this book supplements courses relating to this central concept. Emphasizing the idea of community as an aspect of social organization and political life, it is especially useful in political science and sociology courses dealing with local politics and the urban world. David W. Minar received his graduate degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and has taught at Columbia University, Northwestern University, and the University of Washington. He is the author of Ideas and Politics: The American Experience; editor of Problems and Prospects in Public Management; and co-editor of The New Urbanization. Scott Greer has taught at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Occidental College, and Northwestern University. Among his publications are Social Organization; Last Man In: Racial Access to Union Power; The Emerging City: Myth and Reality; Governing the Metropolis; Metropolitics: A Study of Political Culture; Urban Renewal and American Cities, and The Logic of Social Inquiry. He is a co-editor of The New Urbanization.

Andrew Vincent here offers a comprehensive, synoptic, and comparative analysis of the major conceptions of political theory throughout the twentieth century. It challenges established views of contemporary political theory and provides critical perspectives on the future of the subject.

For years environmentalists thought natural resources could be best protected by national legislation. But the poor outcomes of this top-down policy have led conservation professionals today to regard local communities as the agents of conservation efforts. According to a recent survey, more than fifty countries report that they pursue partnerships with local communities in an effort to protect their forests. Despite the recent popularity of a community-based approach, the concept of community rarely receives the attention it should get from those concerned with resource management. This balanced volume redresses the situation, demonstrating both the promise and the potential dangers of community action. Although the contributors advocate community-based conservation, they examine the record with a critical eye. They pay attention to the concrete political contexts in which communities emerge and operate. Understanding the nature of community requires understanding the internal politics of local regions and their relationship to external forces and actors. Especially critical are issues related to ethnicity, gender, and the state.