IN the classical sociological literature, community is said to exist when certain feelings or values are present. For Tönnies, these values are kinship, love, loyalty, and honor. When Weber wrote about communal relationships, he mentioned a sense of belonging, and being implicated in other people's existence. Durkheim found community in groups formed by intimacy, emotional cohesion, depth, and continuity.

Local 10 members use different words to describe these feelings. They consider themselves a social world, and in some important ways, they act like a traditional community. “We're part of a neighborhood,” said one of them. “We have an image. We're part of a way of life; we're part of a subculture. We're also a job. And we're an emotional, economic, and political entity. That's what we are, all of those things.”

In an earlier historical context, a different set of concepts was used to talk about the feelings associated with community. The French Revolution constructed the experience of community around three dimensions: liberty, fraternity, and equality. Within a community, these dimensions have an organic relationship; without community, they are driven apart. Taken together, liberty, fraternity, and equality stand for union, or solidarity; thus, they are critical features of political community. The French Revolution's conception of community provides an excellent framework for analyzing the political community one finds among San Francisco longshoremen.