Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft

Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft is the title of a famous book by the German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies (1855–1936). The terms have been translated as “community” and “society,” respectively, and refer to opposite kinds of social relationships.

As Tönnies defined it, a gemeinschaft group is an intimate one. It is usually small, often not much larger than twenty persons. Its members have many things in common, share a name, and can identify one another easily. They care for and are loyal to one another, and members generally expect that they will help one another whenever needed. Concern for the welfare of the group often overrides personal interests of individual members. Such a group is regulated more by informal norms than explicit laws. The degree of respect and deference given to members, how affect (the conscious, subjective aspect of an emotion considered apart from bodily changes) is expressed and to whom, and the kinds of cooperation expected of different members are passed on through tradition and learned by new members from the others. Because of these characteristics, there is often a clear sense of who is an “insider” and who an “outsider.” Outsiders are not subject to the same norms as insiders and may be viewed with suspicion or hostility or treated with distant civility.

Tönnies and others have given many examples of gemeinschaft groups: Families, friendships, clans, clubs, teams, military squadrons, neighborhoods, and small villages are among them. Entrance into these kinds of groups is based on birth, residence, or personal sponsorship. Many times gender, skin color, ethnicity, age, and religion are also important as standards of entry to a gemeinschaft group.

A gesellschaft group, in Tönnies's conception, is usually large, complex, and impersonal. Its members have little in common. Often members know only the few with whom they are in immediate contact and obliged to cooperate; others in the organization are, in effect, faceless. A member of such a group is known primarily by the specialized functions he or she performs, such as those of accountant, engineer, salesperson, manager, electrician, secretary, or plumber, rather than by a common name. Members are, on the whole, emotionally neutral toward those not in their immediate work group. They evaluate one another in objective terms; namely, by how well they follow the rules and do their jobs. Each member is responsible mainly for his or her specific task. The members' concern is usually whether the group facilitates personal interests—for money, advancement, recognition, personal growth, and the like. Negotiation, bargaining, market conditions, and contracts are thus central to relationships. Many of the norms that regulate relationships are explicit, formal, and specific to the group but also draw on public law as well as common standards of civility.