Comparison to other political philosophies thumb|A variant of the Nolan chart using traditional political color coding (red leftism versus blue rightism) with communitarianism on the top left Early communitarians were charged with being, in effect, social conservatives. However, many contemporary communitarians, especially those who define themselves as responsive communitarians, fully realize and often stress that they do not seek to return to traditional communities, with their authoritarian power structure, rigid stratification, and discriminatory practices against minorities and women. Responsive communitarians seek to build communities based on open participation, dialogue, and truly shared values. Linda McClain, a critic of communitarians, recognizes this feature of the responsive communitarians, writing that some communitarians do "recognize the need for careful evaluation of what is good and bad about [any specific] tradition and the possibility of severing certain features . . . from others."McClain, Linda, C, "Rights and irresponsibility," Duke Law Journal (March 1994): 989–1088. And R. Bruce Douglass writes, "Unlike conservatives, communitarians are aware that the days when the issues we face as a society could be settled on the basis of the beliefs of a privileged segment of the population have long since passed."Douglass, R. Bruce. "The renewal of democracy and the communitarian prospect." The Responsive Community 4.3 (1994): 55–62.
Comparison to other political philosophies thumb|A variant of the Nolan chart using traditional political color coding (red leftism versus blue rightism) with communitarianism on the top left Early communitarians were charged with being, in effect, social conservatives. However, many contemporary communitarians, especially those who define themselves as responsive communitarians, fully realize and often stress that they do not seek to return to traditional communities, with their authoritarian power structure, rigid stratification, and discriminatory practices against minorities and women. Responsive communitarians seek to build communities based on open participation, dialogue, and truly shared values. Linda McClain, a critic of communitarians, recognizes this feature of the responsive communitarians, writing that some communitarians do "recognize the need for careful evaluation of what is good and bad about [any specific] tradition and the possibility of severing certain features . . . from others."McClain, Linda, C, "Rights and irresponsibility," Duke Law Journal (March 1994): 989–1088. And R. Bruce Douglass writes, "Unlike conservatives, communitarians are aware that the days when the issues we face as a society could be settled on the basis of the beliefs of a privileged segment of the population have long since passed."Douglass, R. Bruce. "The renewal of democracy and the communitarian prospect." The Responsive Community 4.3 (1994): 55–62.