There are many people who want communities and society to wield power. This may sound warm and fuzzy until one finds out what that means. We have here am authority that is unelected, unaccountable, unofficial, unbalanced and unchecked - that as such has nothing to keep it from becoming tyrannical and corrupt. And many societies and communities become both.

They have high levels of incest. They have high levels of domestic violence.. They have extreme conformity pressure and am aggressively anti-intellectual attitude. For as long as wrong things are done in the name of community and society that discredits community and society. And that leads many conscientious people to become antisocial.

Now there are many people who militate against the government and see it as the root of oppression. In Western democracies the biggest abuser isn't government but private citizens and private organizations. That government can go wrong is most certainly true. However it's not the only thing that is capable of doing wrong. And it becomes imperative, in order to avoid tyranny, to check the private entities as readily as the government in order to avoid what amounts to hidden tyranny and corruption.

It is inevitable that people will form communities and societies. What is not inevitable is that wrong be done in their name. If communities and societies are to be organs of power then it must be official, checked and balanced. Their practices must be written down and subject to a vote. Then we will see less wrong done in the name of society and community and there will be greater respect for both.