The argument that society should be organised to maximize a sense unity comes in many guises. Stakeholder economists, such as Will Hutton, argue that we need to regulate market capitalism by enforcing upon companies obligations to communities and employees as well as shareholders. Communitarians, such as John Gray and Amitai Etzioni, argue that individuals can only realise themselves within a strong, supportive community. They share the belief that global capitalism is the enemy of community and that we need to make our societies more caring and compassionate. The communitarian critique of market capitalism is superficially appealing but eventually disappointing.
Strong communities can be pockets of intolerance and prejudice.
Settled, stable communities are the enemies of innovation, talent, creativity, diversity and experimentation. They are often hostile to outsiders, dissenters, young upstarts and immigrants. This battle between market and community has been central to the politics of the 1990s. Governments of the right and the left have continued with broadly pro-market policies, while also strengthening social institutions. This middle way is better than the market extremism which went before.