From Community to Society: (Un)bound Pluralities in Eliot, Lewis, and Auden

Abstract

This article demonstrates how Ferdinand Tönnies’s celebrated distinction between Gemeinschaft (community) and Gesellschaft (society) resonates in the works of T. S. Eliot, Wyndham Lewis, and W. H. Auden, who engage with the implications of rootedness, cosmopolitanism, and the erosion of traditional communities. These thinkers offer valuable insights into the ways in which the transition from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft reshaped social life, cultural identity, and individual consciousness. The paper examines these perspectives, contrasting the virtues of localized, organic communities with the challenges and opportunities posed by modern, cosmopolitan societies. It highlights the ongoing struggle to balance unity and diversity in a rapidly evolving world, where the preservation of cultural identity often clashes with the demands of global interconnectedness. Ultimately, this exploration underscores the enduring relevance of Tönnies’s framework and the continued search for meaning and community in the face of modernity’s transformative pressures.