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For Hannah Arendt, a crisis occurs when we can no longer rely on the prejudices that
ordinarily guide us through the world. Every crisis is, therefore, an occasion to
reflect upon tradition. By eroding our shared background beliefe, however, the crisis
also weakens our ability to communicate and cooperate with each other. The crisis
thus confronts us with the question of what community is possible when we do not have
anything in common. Arendt's own answer is found in the community of judgment. Insofar
as reflective judgments involve soliciting the potential agreement of others, they
confirm that some common ground remains despite the loss of shared prejudices. Indeed,
only when we cannot take consensus for granted are we truly attentive to others. By
focusing on the tenuous togetherness of crisis, Arendt's work shows us that groups
supported by shared values, traditions, and purposes are not necessarily political
in nature.
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