Tönnies' Community and Civil Society (first published in 1887 as Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft) is a classic of social and political theory, exploring the tension between close-knit "communities" and an emerging global market "society". It is a response to modernity, an exercise in social, political and moral science, and an unusual commentary on the inner character of "democratic socialism". This new translation and introduction make this important work much more readily accessible to student readers, and those interested in social and political theory and the history of European ideas.