The Failure of Community and the Future of Communitarianism in Asia and Latin America

• Main Author: Lee, Alex Taek-Gwang
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2024
• Subjects: community; communitarianism; colonialism; democracy; Global South
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/kk/vol1/iss45/10; https://archium.ateneo.edu/context/kk/article/1038/viewcontent/Lee.pdf
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

This article examines the complex dynamics between national identity formation, community transformation, and global crises through multiple theoretical frameworks. Beginning with Kafka’s prescient diary entry about World War I and its resonance with the current Ukraine conflict, the analysis expands to explore Benedict Anderson’s concept of “imagined communities” and its application to postcolonial nation-building in Asia and Latin America. Drawing on Spinoza’s political philosophy, particularly his conception of democracy, I develop a framework for understanding how communities navigate between tradition and modernity in the aftermath of World War II. The research engages with both Anderson’s theory of nationalism and Antonio Negri’s radical democratic interpretation of Spinoza, focusing on how the multitude functions as a political force in postcolonial contexts. Special attention is paid to the transformation of global conflicts from imperial wars to internal struggles, challenging the oversimplified notion of a “Cold War” in Asia and Latin America. Through this theoretical scaffolding, the article addresses pressing questions about technological change, environmental challenges, and economic alternatives in the Global South, while examining how national identity serves as both a material and symbolic force in community formation. My discussion concludes that successful communities are not measured by their stability but by their capacity to change while maintaining core values of justice and collective well-being, particularly in regions shaped by colonial legacies and postwar transformations.