Community and its elements

Person rarely exists alone. It is inevitable that people who over a long period reside in a particular locality should develop social likeness, have common social ideas, belonging etc.

Definition of Community

Community is a human population living within a limited geographic area and carrying on a common inter-dependent life. - Lund berg 

Community is a social group with some degree of "we-feeling" and living in a given area.  - Begardus

Elements of community

Following are the elements on the basis of which it can be decided whether a particular group is a community or not.

i)                   Group of people: Community is a group of people.

ii)                Locality: That group as people reside in a definite locality, a territorial area.

iii)              Community sentiment: It means a feeling of belonging together. It is a "we feeling" among the members, in modern societies it lacks. Even the neighbours are not known. Mere neighbourhood does not create a community, if community sentiment is lacking.

iv)              Permanency: Community is not transitory like a crowd. It refers permanent life in a definite place.

v) Naturality: Communities are not created by an act but are natural.

There can be larger communities like nations and smaller communities like neighbours. Here the large community provides peace and protection and the smaller community provides friends and friendship.