What is Community

The word ‘community’ is used, and abused, in several ways. I would like to define the word ‘community’ and later on I would define the community work, particularly my own experience of working with South Asian community for last twenty years. I would also incorporate various other theories, academic work on this issue. The realistic definition of ‘community’ as a working idea related to peoples’ residence, employment, leisure patterns, and to services provided by central and local government agencies. There are five usage of word community.

(1) Community is often loosely and emotively employed as an imprecise synonym for society. This usage is often employed by politicians or by others making political addresses who want to emphasise the mutuality and sense of obligation of all members of a political unit over some issue. For example, “The community has a duty to ensure that the rights of the poor should be looked after. Such use of community by the politicians or others is imprecise, misleading and to be avoided.

(2) Community is used to designate a category of people who do share certain characteristics but who also have many differences from one another. Instances of quite different types are: the Ca

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The term community is likewise a contested concept and there is no universally agreed meaning.

Critical of the pluralist model of community work for its negation of a wider political analysis. Radical theories include anarchism, which is based on the proposition that society can operate without a government.

The socialism, on the other hand believe on state control, or less degree, the means of production in order to produce what is necessary for and needed by society without regard of profit. Feminism, both as a socio-political theory and as a social movement, has, reconstructed perspectives in many different areas of life. An understanding of community work can be related to political values. In such phrases as ‘community care’, ‘community action’ and ‘community involvement’ there are intended overtones of identity of interest, emotion and obligation, which may be more of an affirmation than a description.

One pluralist theories advocate in community work, Thomas, suggests two major elements to the activity: the ‘distributive’ and the ‘developmental’. They all in different ways, have some impact upon policy, but none dominates the mechanism of government. This definition is produced by the England Standards Board for Community Work Training and Qualifications. Anarchism advocates the establishment and the operation of voluntary associations based on co-operative principles mutual aid. ‘Left’ radicalism, offers a far-reaching critique of society that question the very nature of the social, political and economic forces within society but does not offer a comprehensive and workable view of a future society. It seems better to avoid such usage unless it is precisely defined in a given context. He believes that only small-scale change is possible, or desirable, and stresses the educational and experimental aspects of the work. In the United Kingdom a multiple of interest groups, such as religious groups, trade unions, political parties, pressure groups and black groups, share power with central government.

Approximate Word count = 892
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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