ABSTRACT
The chapter discusses the concept of community in its traditional and post-modern conceptualizations. The former identifies community with the essential substance possessed by a group of likeminded people, while the latter strives to decentre and dis-contain community. It is shown how, instead of being a mechanism of closure, community constantly embraces otherness and resists completion. The concept of community is presented in terms of pure gift and pure hospitality; this way, the normative view of community is formulated. Also, the privileged ontological status of humans is questioned, and the concept of ‘becoming-animal’ is discussed. It is argued that a genuine community must overcome the separation of the human and the non-human. In this light, the biopolitical approach to community is emphasized, dealing with our understanding and regulation of the nature and flows of life.
