Thanks for reading. Try one month of unlimited access for $1.

View offer ×

'THE QUEST FOR COMMUNITY'

By E.J. Dionne Jr.
Most Read Opinions
December 3, 1996

1 Opinion
 In the midst of a presidential campaign in which both sides shunned grand arguments about first principles, It’s clear. Trump doesn’t want to be
Share president anymore.
the country lost one of its most provocative and elegant conservative thinkers.


2 Opinion

Robert A. Nisbet, who died in September at the age of 82, was so resolutely unfashionable that he regularly In a month, Trump has destroyed
‘America First’
came back into fashion. His love was for old ideas and traditional dispositions. Old ideas are easily forgotten,
 and so they seem innovative when rediscovered. 3 Opinion
Trump is the culmination of all that
has gone wrong in our politics
 Nisbet's driving concern was a belief that the modern world had undermined the bonds of hierarchy,
4 Opinion
community, authority and tradition. The basic conflict of our time, he thought, was captured by the words There’s yet another level to the
 Trump administration’s corruption
"Tradition and Revolt," the title of one of his many books. Nisbet was a visionary traditionalist. in Ukraine

5 Opinion
Authentic conservatism of the sort Nisbet defended is controversial in America, even among conservatives. The media needs to focus on the
real corruption
People we now call liberal embrace egalitarianism, dislike hierarchies, and mistrust authority. People we now
call conservative defend that most socially disruptive of institutions, the economic marketplace of modern
capitalism, and laud the efficiencies created by economic change even when they come at the expense of the
traditional communities Nisbet defended.

"Community" is the idea most associated with Nisbet, who taught at the University of California/Riverside, the
University of Arizona and Columbia. It is the idea responsible for the several bouts of popularity he enjoyed Latest episode

during his life. Why a suburb's integrated schools

are still failing black students
 Listen 27:45
His best-known book is "The Quest for Community," published in 1953. "The quest for community will not be
Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear
denied," Nisbet wrote, "for it springs from some of the powerful needs of human nature -- needs for a clear analysis. Everything you’ve come to expect
sense of cultural purpose, membership, status and continuity." from the newsroom of The Post -- for your
ears.

But the modern world and its big institutions, Nisbet argued, had torn asunder the bonds that created
authentic community. "It is very difficult to maintain the eminence of the small, local units when the loyalties
and actions of individuals are consolidated increasingly in the great power units represented by the nation-
states in the modern world."

What terrified Nisbet were the efforts of centralizing ideologies, communism and Nazism, to "confer upon the
individual some sense of that community which has been lost under the impact of modern social changes." But We dig deeper.
Original reporting, exclusive scoops and
they provided fake forms of community built on "force and terror." One of Nisbet's central ideas is that there is
more. Subscribe for $1.
a vast difference between true authority, which is earned and exercised with restraint, and raw power, which is
Get this offer
seized and unaccountable. Nisbet thus called for strengthening communities "small in scale but solid in
structure." Send me this offer

Already a subscriber? Sign in

"Freedom cannot be maintained in a monolithic society," he wrote. "Pluralism and diversity of experience are
the essence of true freedom. . . . Neither moral values nor fellowship nor freedom can easily flourish apart
from the existence of diverse communities, each capable of enlisting the loyalties of its members."

The one time I met him, Nisbet noted the irony that "The Quest for Community" was brought back into print Inside 'Trump Revealed'
Read stories based on reporting
in the 1960s because of its popularity among New Leftists, whose politics Nisbet despised. In principle, the
for “Trump Revealed,” a broad,
anti-authoritarian, anti-hierarchical New Left had little in common with a conservative sociologist who comprehensive biography of the
life of the 45th president.
thought hierarchy and authority were essential to true community. But Nisbet's mistrust of modern • Reporting archive: Trump’s
financial records,
bureaucracy and his fears for the fate of the isolated individual articulated well with the New Left's concern depositions and interview
transcripts
about "the loneliness and estrangement" of modern life.

Another Nisbet revival is on right now, this one fueled by political conservatives searching for a coherent
Read These Comments newsletter
philosophy to support their efforts to tear down the modern welfare state and replace it with more localized
The best comments and conversations at The
and voluntary efforts to lift up the poor. Washington Post, delivered every Friday. Join the
conversation.

You can appreciate Nisbet without agreeing with him on everything. Like many conservatives, Nisbet could
E-mail address Add
underestimate the costs imposed by traditional hierarchies and inequalities. Revolt against such hierarchies is
often the right response. And his fears about the national state -- shared by his latter-day enthusiasts -- could
keep him from acknowledging how democratic countries have used social insurance and economic regulation
washingtonpost.com
to protect rather than undermine the traditional communities he revered.
© 1996-2019 The Washington Post

But Nisbet commands our attention because of his brilliant, bracing and humane criticism of certain modern
Help
assumptions that usually go unquestioned. Policies and Standards
Terms of Service
He threw out a particular challenge to liberals
liberal and leftists who love to talk about community but often mistrust Privacy Policy
Print Products Terms of Sale
authority and tradition. Communities without authority fall apart, Nisbet observed, and tradition has usually
Digital Products Terms of Sale
provided community life with a glue far stronger than any afforded by modern ideas. Submissions and Discussion Policy
RSS Terms of Service
We have still not fully responded to Nisbet's challenge, which is his legacy to all who would nurture both Ad Choices
Contact Us
freedom and community.

 Comments

Read These Comments newsletter

The best comments and conversations at The Washington Post, delivered every Friday. Join the conversation.

E-mail address Sign up

By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

E.J. Dionne Jr.

E.J. Dionne writes about politics in a twice-weekly column for The Washington Post. He is a government professor at Georgetown University, a
senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution and a frequent commentator on politics for National Public Radio and MSNBC.
He is most recently a co-author of “One Nation After Trump.” Follow 

We dig deeper.
Original reporting, exclusive scoops and more. Subscribe for $1.

Get this offer Send me this offer

Already a subscriber? Sign in

The Post Recommends

A cop is charged with shooting a fleeing e-scooter rider. Her

explanation sounded too familiar to prosecutors.
Jackson County Deputy Lauren Michael told a similar story the last time she fatally shot
someone in a Walmart parking lot, and now that shooting is under review, too, prosecutors
said.
2 days ago

Simone Biles breaks record for most world medals won by any
gymnast
After the equivalent of a lunch break, the Olympian returned to the arena and won another gold
— this one, on floor exercise.
52 minutes ago

A reporter grilled Mike Pompeo about Ukraine. He accused her

of working for the DNC.
Nancy Amons's interview of Pompeo has been described as “gutsy,” “relentless” and “a master
class in journalism."
25 minutes ago