Gemeinschaft Society The work Gemeinschaft is translated as "community" and is a reference to the "closeness of holistic social relationships said to be found in pre-industrial communities, and imputed to the community as moral worth." (Hughes, nd, p.1) Gemeinschaft is reported to be dependent in terms of its existence upon the member's "subjective will" and as stated in the work of Tonnies (1925) "The very existence of Gemeinschaft rests in the consciousness of belonging together and the affirmation of the condition of mutual dependence." (p.69) While a similar association exists in what is known as Gesellschaft, this society or association is based on unity based on "common traits and activities and other external phenomena." (Tonnies, 1925, p.67) Such as the "ethnic community, community of speech and community of work" are not Gemeinschaft since they are lacking the critical factor of "shared feeling which is essential to Gemeinschaft." (Hughes, nd, p.1)

Tonnies writes in the work entitled "Community and Civil Society" that Gemeinschaft must be understood "as a living organism in its own right, while Gesellschaft is a mechanical aggregate and artifact." (nd, p.1) Everything that is real is reported by Tonnies to be "organic in the sense that it must be seen in conjunction with the whole material world, which governs its nature and movements." (nd, p.3) The theory of Gemeinschaft is such that has as its basis the belief that in the natural state a complete unity of human wills exists and that this unity is held steady even when individuals are separate. This complete unit takes on various forms and this is stated to be dependent upon "how far the...

22) Tonnies writes that the two things that these relationships have in common is the all encompassing "character of the sub-conscious 'vegetative' life that stems from birth: human wills, each one housed in a physical body are related to another by descent and kinship; they remain united, or become so out of necessity." (nd, p.22) Surety is illustrated in its greatest forms in three specific relationships including the relationship between a child and its' mother, the relationship between a woman and man as a couple and the relationship between those who are sisters and brothers or otherwise stated siblings who have the same mother. The "seed of Gemeinschaft," or the belief held by the human being towards Gemeinschaft is that of any kin relationship with these three being the most important and the strongest from the view of Gemeinschaft. (Tonnies, nd, p.23) Each of the three relationships is held to be significant in their own special way. Firstly, the relationship between the child and mother is stated to be "deeply rooted in pure instinct and pleasures, and at the same time the shading over from a physical to purely spiritual relationship is here at its most apparent, particularly at the beginning." (Tonnies, nd, p. 23) The relationship is characterized as a longitudinal relationship with the child being nurtured and protected by the mother until the child is able to take care of itself. The relationship however remains connected due to shared memories and the sacrifices of the mother for the child. These are "direct mutual connections" but these are stated to…