The Sociology Book

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community. It is for this reason,
according to Etzioni, that the
procreation, and bringing up, of
children should be considered
a communitarian act. Etzioni
argues that parents have a moral
responsibility to the community to
raise their children to the best of
their ability; and the communities
have an obligation to help them in
their efforts. Communities should
support and encourage, rather than
stigmatize, parents who take a
respite from work in order to spend
time with their children.

Etzioni finds that the accumulation

of evidence tends to support the

important social role of the family,

and observes: “It is no accident that

in a wide variety of human

societies (from the Zulus to the

Inuits, from ancient Greece and

ancient China to modernity), there

has never been a society that did

not have two-parent families.” He

argues that such a structure, or

one that replicates its supportive

parenting arrangements, is crucial

to “reducing the parenting deficit”

brought about by developments

such as new career patterns,

divorce, the growth in single

parenthood, and increased

individualism. As part of this,

he says that society needs to limit

the institutionalization of young

children in day care centers.

Etzioni’s third principle sets out

the functions of the “communitarian

school.” Schools should do far

more than transmitting skills and

knowledge to pupils. They should

build upon the task of character

formation initiated by parents to

help lay the foundations for a stable

AMITAI ETZIONI

School leavers should enroll for

military service (as at these barracks

in Germany in 2011), Etzioni argues,

because it instills self-discipline and

builds character and community spirit.

sense of self, of purposefulness,

and the ability to control impulses

and defer immediate gratification.

In particular, the values of

discipline, self-discipline, and

internalization—the integration

of the values of others into one’s

own sense of self—play a major

role in the child’s psychological

development and wellbeing.

As part of his emphasis on

self-discipline, Etzioni argues that

all school leavers should undertake

a mandatory year of national

service. Doing so, he claims, would

provide “a strong antidote to the

ego-centered mentality as youth

serve shared needs.”

Fourth, and finally, Etzioni

puts forward measures intended

to counter the loss of traditional

community while also serving as

the basis on which to build new

communities. These include

changing what US sociologist

Robert N. Bellah termed “habits

of the heart.” Etzioni’s measures

include fostering a “community

environment” in which thinking

about our individual actions in

Education, particularly

character formation, is the

essential family task.

Amitai Etzioni

The imbalance between

rights and responsibilities

has existed for a long time.

Amitai Etzioni