A group of people with characteristics or elements in common is constituted as a community.
The word community has its origins in the Latin term communitas . The concept refers to the characteristic of commonality , which is why it allows us to define various types of groups : of the individuals that are part of a town , region or nation ; of nations that are linked by political and economic agreements (such as the European Community or Mercosur ); or of people linked by common interests (as occurs in the Catholic community ).
In Spain , the expression autonomous community is used to identify a territorial strip that, within the constitutional bases of the Spanish State , has autonomy at the legislative level and executive powers . It also has the power to have its own administration through local representatives.
Community as a group of living beings
It can be said that a community is a group of human beings who share common elements , such as language, customs, geographical location, worldview or values , for example. Within a community, a common identity is usually created by differentiating it from other groups or communities.
Another definition of the concept is the one conceived by Biology . It refers to a set of different species that share the same habitat and where all of them are essential for the balance of the ecosystem .
The view of sociology
From the point of view of sociology , certain places such as prisons or barracks also constitute communities that can be described and analyzed.
On the other hand, in the world of work , a company can also present itself as a community, since those who are part of it share common objectives and rally behind a corporate philosophy.
Technology allows the creation of virtual communities.
The virtual community
Thanks to the development of new technologies and the Internet , what are known as virtual communities have been formed.
Social networks, forums, instant messaging systems and blogs are sites that allow the creation of this type of communities.
The notion according to psychology
Community psychology , for its part, understands that a community implies a certain amount of elements to be understood as such, that there is a group where the parties feel identified and have a common objective .
According to Maritza Montero, a community is a set of individuals who are constantly in transformation and development and who have a relationship of belonging to each other, with a social identity and a community consciousness that leads them to worry about the rest of those who are part. of that group. These relationships strengthen unity and social interaction . Within the group, problems and interests are shared and the spirit of cohesion and solidarity is what will allow us to face them and improve as a group.
Other specialists within this area who have defined the term are Sarason and McMillan and Chavis . Sarasson believes that the sense of community implies closeness and empathy with others, the feeling of being part of a whole; while McMillan and Chavis affirm this but add that this feeling of belonging can only develop if there is a shared need or faith and that it is reflected in the effort that all members present to remain united to the group.
Essential components of a community
Now let's move on to the four elements necessary for a community to exist: membership (refers to the history , symbols and identity of the community and rights and duties, among other elements), influence (has to do with the capacity for induction to carry out a certain joint action), integration (has to do with the satisfaction of all the needs of the group, includes popularity, respect and status, among others) and commitment (where the knowledge of the members of the group and the goals of All united, it allows us to create firm emotional ties and provide support, affection and security among all).
In the biological definition of the term, there is a problem that makes the analysis somewhat complex, and that is that populations are not usually completely stable, given that some species (many birds, for example) are nomadic and are in constant movement. This has led scientists to wonder if there really was a concept of community or if each species only looked out for its group. This issue is still under discussion, but explaining some issues will help us take sides.
There are two definitions of the term, one holistic and the other individualistic . The first states that a community is like a huge organism and functions homogeneously ; In this definition, all organisms are essential for the development of the group to be as expected and adds that any population cannot be studied or understood individually, but rather based on its place within the community.
The individualist conception says that communities are formed randomly and do not even have a particular structure, for this reason it cannot be taken as a whole. The characteristics of each community are a consequence of the sum of actions carried out by each population, where the latter act with total independence with respect to the rest of the populations that live in their ecosystem.