ABSTRACT
It was stressed throughout the previous chapter that community has a wide range of descriptive meaning in much the same way as ‘game’ has and it was also pointed out that the evaluative position of the theorist may well determine the aspects of the descriptive meaning to be emphasised. The problem for social theory and, as we have seen, a practical problem for the community worker on which hangs the coherence of his own activity, is that of providing an understanding of community compatible with a standpoint which involves the recognition of the values of individuality and autonomy. The meaning of community is not, pace Hillery, given outside any evaluative framework, rather what we take as central to the meaning of community is parasitic upon our general moral and social attitudes. Consequently, in this chapter concerned as it is with the liberal community, a wide range of possible criteria will be examined in an attempt to single out the range of criteria consistent with a liberal evaluative standpoint.
