ABSTRACT
The first step is to present a theory of praxis based on Jean-Paul Sartre's Critique of Dialectical Reason and so begin the examination of the nature of associating. The argument in this chapter has three related strands, namely, that praxis stems from human need, occurs in a milieu of scarcity and gives rise to certain understandings. An examination of these strands shows that in its immediacy, at the level of operation, praxis is both normative and dialectical in nature and it is the normative and dialectical nature of praxis at the level of operation that will yield understandings about the nature of associating and hence of forms and terms of associations. Since Sartre concentrates on the dialectical process of praxis there is work to be done in developing an outline of a normative theory of associations that would be of use to communitarians at least for certain communitarians who advocate putting into place the values and practices.
