Ferdinand Tönnies (1855-1936) developed and refined the concepts of Gemeinschaft and
Gesellschaft to illustrate the evolution of society from a primarily family and community-based
structure to an anonymous capitalistic and mechanistic social organization. The idealized mental
constructs of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft describe the development of society from childhood
to adulthood. These mental constructs do not and can not exist in their pure form, but the ideals
give scholars a tool to characterize societal groups at various points in history