Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft

German terms (roughly, ‘community’ and ‘association’) coined by Ferdinand Tönnies in 1887 to contrast social relationships in traditional rural societies with those in modern industrial societies. He saw Gemeinschaft (traditional) as intimate and positive, and Gesellschaft (modern) as impersonal and negative.

In small-scale societies where everyone knows everyone else, the social order is seen as stable and the culture as homogeneous. In large urban areas life is faster and more competitive, and relationships are seen as more superficial, transitory, and anonymous.