Moscow hopes that by strengthening economic and political cooperation, a new commonality of purpose in the technology of space and aviation might slow the pace of Ukraine's strategic alignment with the United States and NATO, where it has joined a kind of apprenticeship, the Partnership for Peace.
History reveals a certain commonality of purpose for New Orleans, for these Mississippi River shores have called unique voices together over the centuries.
There is no guarantee that this strange and wonderful civility, with its hint of an underlying commonality of purpose, will endure.
"We hope it will result in a greater closeness and commonality of purpose," Mr. Leventhal said.
I can't help but conclude that Davos is a functional ideal of what societies strive for: a diverse and educated people with commonality of purpose, values and tolerance within a non-overt disparity of income.
United They Stood [New Orleans'] citizens suddenly realized that out of their commonality of purpose a disparate ethnic population of French, Spanish, Portuguese, Germans, Italians, Anglos, Indians, and blacks of various social classes had been brought together and welded into a force that had brought about the nation's first military victory of any significance.
A sense of unity and commonality of purpose between protestors of different socioeconomic strata and ideological, religious and political views brought Islamists side by side with secularists, with Muslims and Christians praying together in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
That is, with the reduction of familiarity, predictability, and commonality of purpose comes a sort of primitivizing of motives in the direction of fear.
Rather, "keeping afloat" is the thin commonality of purpose that characterises a civil association.
