Il potenziale della relazione sociale di prossimità. Il caso delle comunità di famiglie

The concept of community has known a wide spread use in sociology. However, although, it might seem simple to define community as one of the best known associative forms of human cohabitation, such a definition presents also some empirical problems. In the first place, because community has been often defined as something that dissolves itself with the coming of the modern world. Secondly, because recently such a concept has been used in sociological analysis with problematic meanings. This article attempts to explore such a concept in empirical terms and to offer a contribution to its redefinition referring to a field investigation which involved some communities of families. Starting from this, a definition of community is hypothesized in the form of a social relationship strongly anchored to the moment of intersubjectivity and capable of generating mutations in contratendency to the contemporary culture.