A very brief introduction to:

A General Theory of Community

© by Marv Thomas

October 14, 2004

Community is at the very core of what it is to be human. An innate knowing about community is so deeply a part of our nature, that each of us knows it like our own breath. Community is an instinctive, intrinsic and central dimension of humanness.

The four major coordinates of human existence are:

1. Our Physical Nature -- Me relating to That
2. Our Soul Nature -- Me relating to Myself dreaming, creative, expressive, erotic, aesthetic, psychological
3. Our Communal Nature -- Me relating to Others friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, fellow citizens
4. Our Transcendent Nature -- Me relating to the All That Is spiritual, sacred, reverence

The physical, soul and transcendent dimensions of human life have been well studied and documented. However, when we look for a clear expression about our communal nature, very little is written in an organized way, outside of the back halls of psychology, sociology, anthropology and organizational development. True - much is written about the need for and the value of community. And equally true much is written in a descriptive way about life within community. But this writer cannot find any clear overview in the popular literature about our communal nature. An overview which would allow us to understand what communities are, how they work and where we can intervene to improve them.

Communal systems are very complex and hard to describe. Looked at through one lens they are complex systems which only a social scientist could understand. Through another lens community is a group a people living together in a physical place. Some would see community as the healing experience of sharing a prayer group together. And from another direction community is seen as that emotionally satisfying experience of being together - "rubbing antenna" - if you will. Each vantage point seems to give a different picture of what constitutes community.

Which one is right? They all are.

How then are we to understand this universally used word - "community" - in a way which makes sense regardless of which way we view it? How are we to understand community in an systematic way? A way which will allow us to improve the quality of our shared lives at every level of human existence? My theory points the way to answering these questions. This is as model that draws the complex dimensions of communal life into a coherent whole which will allow us to understand what community is, how it works, how the different dimensions interact and influence each other and how to draw new conclusions which have not been previously apparent.

Community has been an integral part of the human story since our early ancestors first walked upright about 2 million years ago. It has been a part of our lives so long that I believe some elements about how to be communal have found their way into our DNA. Until very recently - in our evolution - community has been the business of very small groups. But now - as we enter into a global communal existence - the well-developed communal systems which worked with the small group are stretched beyond recognition.

Breakdown in the communal realm has happened to such an extent that the very fabric of our lives and culture is threatened. Collectively we need to understand very clearly how community works - both at the individual level and at the global level. Only then can we effectively repair the torn fabric of our communal lives and live together in harmony - all six + billion of us.

Having said all that, here is my model in scant outline:

Abraham Maslow postulated that we have several basic and universal needs which much be fulfilled if we are to be happy and reach our full potential as humans. An expanded version of his work would include:

1. The need for food, shelter and assurance of physical integrity.
2. The need to feel safe emotionally.
3. The need to belong and to be included and to have status.
4. The need for regular human warmth and affection and touch.
5. The opportunity to be competent with our native skills.
6. The need for affirmation for who we are and what we do well.
7. The need to be involved in a greater meaning which transcends daily life.

It is possible to look at every human activity as an attempt to fulfill one or more of these seven universal needs. We find this effort in families, at church, at work and school, in the neighborhood and in whole nations. One example is the job setting. There, the fulfillment of these seven needs are the real pay for the employees. Money is rarely enough reward for most workers. People want safety and warmth and belonging and meaning to make their work satisfying. The same is true on a city council or in a neighborhood action group. All of human life is driven by the urge to satisfy one or more of these seven universal needs.

Community is the container in which people gather to help each other address these vital needs. That is why the word "community" is used so universally. We have many names for community: family, relationship, coterie, platoon, neighborhood, church, business, town, state, nation - the list seems endless. Whatever word is used, it is always associated in a positive way - because it connotes a place where our needs are being satisfied. That place holds us, shelters us and serves as a virtual vessel within which the universal needs are fulfilled - at least in part - in a way which is relevant to our particular gathering.

A community is any cell of people who are gathered together to address some or all of the universal human needs. And a collection of cells - either a few or thousands - is also a community - meeting all the criteria in this model for a communal system. In addition, the word "community" is also used to describe that emotional experience of being embedded in a group which is successfully fulfilling at least some of the universal needs of its members.

Community occurs on many different levels. At each level the universal needs are being addressed in different ways and to different degrees. A family will provide human warmth and touch in a very direct and concrete way. By contrast a business does not emphasize human warmth this directly, though a business which does respond to this need for warmth will feel more humane and satisfying to its employees.

The major levels at which community can happen are:

• Individual - personal, private - our instinctual core communal nature
• Interpersonal - intimate others
• Social - everyone you know - the Personal Village
• Township - a system which can support the individual personal villages within its boundaries -schools, police, fire, urban planning, church
• Cultural - the larger world Church denomination, city, state, ethnic group or tribe, nation.
• Cosmic - everything else - nature, the planet, God

At each level a number of fully alive communal cells are operating in such overlapping ways that it is sometimes difficult to separate them. And within each communal cell or collection of cells - like a town, the major activities are all in the service of fulfilling those universal needs to some extent. If there is a major failure within the cell to meet the needs which emerge, then that communal center will have serious problems and may falter and die. When at least some of the needs are being addressed, then that communal cell can flourish.

In each cell of community a number of elements are always found. In fact these elements are so essential that without them the community will not work, or at a minimum be seriously hampered. Community therapists know about these elements and have skills to bring them into each cell and make sure they are working smoothly. When these elements are in place and working effectively, the members bask in a warm felt sense of harmony. Though there are many - many elements in each community, it is possible to reduce them down to approximately one dozen. They are:

1. The People
2. The common ground
3. Commitment by each Member
4. Trust
5. Servant Leadership
6. Shared Territory
7. Shared History
8. Symbols - Myths - Play
9. An Effective Communication System
10. Agreed upon rules for behavior
11. Ritual - Celebration - Play
12. A Sense of Interdependence

An enormous amount has been written about each of these twelve essentials, but rarely are they brought together and discussed in the context of each other and the unique human needs being fulfilled appropriate to the level of the cell or cells.

Each effective cell of community - each gathering of people - has its own unique dynamics, which include the satisfaction of the universal human needs and the twelve essentials functioning in harmony. Failure to address these needs and/or a breakdown in any of the essentials will result in frustration, problems and maybe chaos.

All of this may appear self evident and reductionistic. It is. And at the same time these three areas of communal life - universal human needs, levels at which communal activity occurs and the essentials - must all be functioning smoothly before that alive dynamic organism we call community can spring into life. If the community is successful it takes on a life of its own, filled to the brim with energetic qualities which defy description. Sometimes the experience even seems magical or mystical. Community is much more than the collection of its parts. It cannot be reduced to a list of components. Community is an alive organism.

And as an alive organism community is in a continual state of evolution. Communities are constantly expanding, contracting and taking on new forms in a process toward which there is no end. Evolution is at the very heart of communal life.

Though each community cell and collection of cells is constantly evolving, the one stabilizing force found in all, is continuity. Continuity is provided by the stability of the twelve essentials. Without continuity, members are anxious, agitated and will drift away to find new communal forms which do provide steadiness and predictability. Continuity is one of the foundations upon which the evolutionary life of community can unfold.

So it could be said in summary that community is that container which holds the place for people to meet their basic human needs. It is found at all levels of human interaction. Within each cell of community are found a number of essential elements which provide continuity and support evolution. And each cell or collection of communal cells are in themselves alive, dynamic organisms meeting all the criteria for a living system.

This short summary is only the tip of the ice berg. Volumes and volumes could be and have been written about each of the issues touched on in this model. Only by holding the whole picture in mind as we examine a particular issue, can we assure that our collective work to improve the communal lives for each individual, family, neighborhood, town, nation and the entire planet, will be truly effective. The successful evolution of humanity demands no less.

© Marv Thomas, 2004

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