ABSTRACT
From advocating the preservation of the Amazonian rain forest to supporting the military deposition of the dictator of another country, citizens and their governments engage in policies that extend beyond political boundaries. Questions about the justness and political legitimacy of these policies are raised but are frequently waylaid in favor of expediency and practicality. The Yanomami tribe of Amazonia, the residents of a city, the representatives to the United Nations, the citizens of China, all are members of a type of community and have certain rights and obligations within that community. The limits of justice, within a communitarian view, are determined neither by the geographic boundaries of a state nor by the fit between the government and its people. A community is the context in which members of a group share common traditions, values, and institutions.
