[From French and Latin communal: of a commune or community.]
(politics) Communalism is collectivism or communism on a smaller scale or on a voluntary basis. Political communalists sometimes posit that communes or local communities should have virtual autonomy within the context of a larger state or society (this is similar to Robert Nozick's concept of meta-utopia). Nonpolitical communalists simply pursue such autonomy by building voluntary, ideal communes or communities (see utopianism).