Our material achievements have not only led to existential environmental problems, but they also contribute to emotional impoverishment in the industrial world, manifesting as loneliness, depression, and high divorce rates. What is lacking in our society is a true sense of community, where people are genuinely close to one another. In times of crisis, we witness the emergence of intense communities, but can this special spirit of community be intentionally created without external disasters?

Through many years of research and concrete experiences, Scott Peck has distilled the foundations of true community and identified that a group on the path to genuine community goes through four phases: pseudocommunity, chaos, emptiness, and authenticity. He has also established communication recommendations to facilitate these important experiences for a group.