This article presents ‘Communitarianism’ in political theory as a ‘Blind Alley’. This is on the grounds that it is difficult to find a political theorist who is willing to be called a communitarian, because the literature lacks any well delineated concept of community, and because a number of awkward theoretical questions, notably about power, arise which are not clearly addressed within the literature. Furthermore, communitarianism has been a blind alley for feminists. Although feminism and so-called communitarianism share an opposition to some other varieties of social and political theory, the apparent affinities between feminism and communitarianism mask significant differences.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BellColinNewbyHoward. (1971), Community Studies: An introduction to the sociology of the local community. London: George Allen and Unwin.
2.
BirkeLinda. (1986), Women, Feminism and Biology: The feminist challenge. Brighton: Harvester Press.
3.
BrysonValerie. (1992), Feminist Political Theory: An introduction. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
4.
DworkinRonald. (1989), ‘Liberal Community’, California Law Review, 77.
5.
FranzwaySuzanneCourtDianneConnellR. W. (1989), Staking a Claim: Feminism, bureaucracy and the state. Cambridge: Polity Press.
6.
JaggarAlison M. (1983), Feminist Politics and Human Nature. Brighton: Harvester.
7.
KaplanGisela. (1992), Contemporary Western European Feminism. London: UCL Press.
8.
LloydGenevieve. (1984), The Man of Reason: Male and Female in Western Philosophy. London: Methuen.
9.
LovenduskiJoniRandallVicky. (1993), Contemporary Feminist Politics: Women and power in Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
10.
MacIntyreAlasdair. (1981), After Virtue. London: Duckworth.
11.
MillerDavid. (1989), ‘In what sense must socialism be communitarian?’, Social Philosophy and Policy, 6.
12.
OakleyAnn. (1980), Women Confined towards a sociology of childbirth. Oxford: Martin Robertson.
13.
OrtnerSherryWhiteheadHarriet. (1981), Sexual Meanings: The Cultural Construction of Gender and Sexuality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
14.
PatemanCarole. (1988), The Sexual Contract. Oxford: Polity Press.
15.
PatemanCarole. (1989), The Disorder of Women. Oxford: Polity Press.
16.
RawlsJohn. (1971), A Theory of Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
17.
RawlsJohn. (1993), Political Liberalism. New York: Columbia University Press.
18.
RortyRichard. (1989), Contingency, Irony and Solidarity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
19.
RuddickSara. (1984), Maternal Thinking: Towards a politics of peace. London: Women's Press.
20.
SandelMichael (ed.). (1984), Liberalism and its critics. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
21.
SandierToddTschirhartJohn T. (1980), ‘The economic theory of clubs: An evaluative survey’, Journal of Economic Literature, XVIII.
22.
SargentLydia (ed.). (1981), The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism: A debate on class and patriarchy by Heidi Hartmann and others. London: Pluto Press.
23.
SmartCarol. (1977), Women, Crime and Criminology. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
24.
TaylorCharles. (1985), Philosophy and the Human Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
25.
TaylorCharles. (1992), Multiculturalism and the Politics of Recognition. (GuttmanAmy (ed.). Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.
26.
WalzerMichael. (1983), Spheres of Justice. New York: Basic Books.
27.
WalzerMichael. (1990), ‘The Communitarian Critique of Liberalism’, Political Theory, 18.
28.
WalzerMichael. (1992), ‘Comment’ in CharlesTaylor (AmyGutmann ed.), Multiculturalism and the Politics of Recognition. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
29.
WilsonElizabeth. (1977), Women and the Welfare State. London: Tavistock.
30.
YoungIris Marion. (1990), Justice and the Politics of Difference. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
