Robert A. Nisbet was one of the great social theorists of the twentieth century and a profound analyst of the nature and sources of social order. In a summary of Nisbet's thought, Brad Lowell Stone has pointed out that this theorist's insights all stemmed from a single theme: the destruction of community by the extension of the power of the central state. (1) Nisbet argued that the most effective social relations have existed historically within small, highly localized, face-to-face ties. In the past, the "institutional systems of mutual aid, welfare, education, recreation, and distribution" were primarily the products of "family, local community, church, and the whole network of interpersonal relationships." (2) Nisbet did not idealize these immediate interpersonal arrangements, but he did maintain that for all their imperfections they have been important sources of personal identity, security, and adaptation to environmental demands. These arrangements of social ties not only fulfilled functions; they were maintained by their functions. The continuing need for families and communities strengthened families and communities.
