The dark side of communal life...myth or facts?? and other questions

You claim to have experience, yet when asked to offer it, you instead insult those who have experience, are currently living the life, currently sharing that life with others, and then claim I have an unpleasant attitude...

Oh, as for my undertakings failing... We're here, living the life... Where are you, what are you doing with your life?

 

I would say start with just a few things going on, and work up. Keeping many different types of animals takes a lot of time and energy, in addition to a lot of money, especially in the beginning stages. I would aim for a simpler start, and then you may want to add things which you've been thinking about over time. You might even come to a point where you're getting along just fine and decide you don't need some particular thing as much as you'd thought, and end up saving a good deal of money and effort. I'm just saying try not to overwhelm yourself from the get-go.

There are lots of urban communes. Even many communes out in the country don't make a real attempt to become self-sufficient, simply because you can make a more comfortable living operating a cottage industry than farming. So the question of necessary land usage depends a lot on how much food you intend to produce for yourself, and how you intend to focus your limited workforce's efforts.

Communes certainly exist which embrace modern technology. I'd say that most do. It's hard to say whether the impact of it is good or not, since those communes who refrain as much as possible from use of technology tend to have been for some time, anyway, and countless numbers of modern communes pop up and disappear for all kinds of reasons unrelated to the use of technology.

There are lots of models available. I'd say if you want to know what works realistically, try to talk with Steve Gaskin, the Bruderhof, etc. and see what triumphs and difficulties they're encountered along the way.

 

lmao

 

Chronic, if you want to continue arguing, can you consider doing it via PM or in a different forum, so a real topic doesn't get covered in useless fighting?

 

oh, I'm sorry, did you think those letters stood for something argumentative?

That was me laughing and walking away...

Feel free to be the guiding light here... I'm sure you will save her from herself.

 

There was an article "Five acres and freedom" that was in an issue of Mother Earth News years ago. You might want to pick up an issue and check out their index of issues/stories and try and find the article. As I recall it was a good article and laid out how and where to put or grow everything from gardens,fruit trees,buildings,ect for convienience and efficiency.Instead of thinking about starting out with a group of people,you could perhaps set some plan of your own ,guided by a plan such as I've mentioned. When you have a plan and begin to work on it, those who are interested will appear. The amount of interest of each individual will become apparent and you could judge their intent at that point. I'm sure there are many other "plans" as it were, in many other places/magazines/internet,ect. To just get a bunch of people together and start a commune would seem to me to invite the usual human clusterfucks. Hope this helps--make your own luck!

 

Ok thanks man, I just know this current model of life structure is becoming ever more unappealing, and only seems to benifit those at the top..

Ironically, it seems we, are the ones being 'farmed' by them, farmed of our resorces by both government and Corporate intereste...yes, it's like they're farming us for what little resorces we have...

And then telling us 'this is a great life' or 'model'....

I have much more thought on this topic when I return...back soon...

 

Mother Earth News has had many articles about that... the one in particular you mean however, is this one.

Farming for Self -Sufficiency Independence on a 5-Acre Farm

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/1974-05-01/Farming-for-Self-Sufficiency.aspx​

​

 

Thanks. I remember it being pretty good.

 

Mother Earth News up until the early 90's are something that anyone living in the country should make a special effort to read.

After the 90's... not so much, although it is still one of the better magazines you can get.

They had a series of articles that were called The Have More plan.

I couldn't find a link to the articles online, but it can be downloaded here;

http://ebooklink.net/r?http://depositfiles.com/files/3983933

Definitely worth the read.

 

I got the very first one when I lived in Hawaii and I recall a couple started MEN on their kitchen table. Some guy wrote in and requested a way get a lifetime subscription and they replied that for one hundred dollars you could have it. Wish I had done it,but it was probably inevitable that they sold out to ---someone.

 

There are a few good old books on this subject that you can find at the Many Books Library.
They shed some light on how people accomplished this type of living back when people had the skills to do it without thinking it was a big deal.
Some good ones are Communistic Societies of the US, Three Acres and Liberty, Our Farm of Four Acres, Farmers of Forty Centuries, and some on raising livestock, preserving produce, trapping & tanning, all kinds of things.

Reading how other people have accomplished independent living is a good way to decide what you would like to accomplish or avoid without taking the personal risk involved. Read about, and especially talk with, existing communes. If something strikes your interest, e.g. raising milk goats, thoroughly research it and maybe visit a local farm that raises them and get acquainted with the procedure.

 

I'm with you on wishing I had a lifetime subscription to them... However, I do have just about everyone of the earlier ones, and all of them on cd...

 

Just a little side note: My gramma told me when I was quite young that in order to find out about someone's character or willingness to pitch in and do a part--take them camping. Man ,have I seen that to be true. Some will spend a whole weekend or week letting "others" do the chores--cooking,washing dishes,getting firewood,ect--all the little things that need to be done to share in a good/fun experience. Thats what one will find in many situations and those are the kind of people one wouldn't want to start a communal scene with. Unless you don't mind doing other's work for them. Maybe a good way to screen people??

 

I know this much...I believe in order and structure...even in a non structured enviornment...

The basics of life have to be taken care of...so that people 'can' relax and be free...

Even where there's no money involved...people have to be willing to step up...

But most have been condtioned that money, cash, is the reward or pay off, and then we reward ourselves by buying 'things' 'stuff' 'gadgets'...

And the more gadgets and things one has, the higher their status in society...

Without those gadgets and things, they, many of us, loose our identity...

To find meaning in life without gadgets and or things, but rather in serving and getting along, is a trait, I think sadly, has been conditioned out of many of us, at least the mainstream...

 

Just don't forget that many will let others do all the work and don't feel bad about it at all. Some don't even know they are lazy and some will enjoy being that way.

 

I'm not saying I'm going to start my own commune, not even...

But there could come a time, where such a life or lifestyle might be more favorable to the one I'm going down now...and so I'm just wanting to get feed back on some realistic models of what works, what doesn't...

The mindset of those at communes...from militant types, to passive peace, love and joy bead making types...the whole guantlet...

I mean I know these aren't communes, but you have like survavalist type compounds, that are built more around a philosopy, or idea, that society will collapse...to your tent city hide outs, where people just stumble upon each other and learn to get along out of nessicity...

But it all comes down to being able to get along with those your around...having a give take attitude I suppose...

And realizing no one person knows what's right for everyone..

I will do as some of you say, and read the post's of others on here, and their personal experiences with such...

Not that my reaction would be there's...but maybe in their writings, they provide a level of nuetral observation as to what goes on or went on there...

Personally, with the way society is going, I think this kind of living will start making a come back...

People will be forced to come together, for many reasons, in order to survive in this new world...



Like from the movie 'The Road'...those who aren't prepared, will fall prey to whatever...

Unlike communal living from the 70's and 60's...when society was pretty solid...I think today's communes have to be more 'purpose' driven...the world has changed much since then...

But again...I'll do some reading of others who have been the way already...
And report back with what I find...

(And I have been homeless before, for like 10 months...lived out of vehicle)
But being homeless is a heck of a lot different than communal living, but you do learn
alot about yourself, what you can endure, what you can't...and believe it or not, some
parts of that experience were very pleasent...a certain freedom came with it, and I
kept myself up...it was important to not allow myself to decend physically. I became
thin and more fit actually, and was in school part of that time, and worked jobs the other)

 

I'm answering these questions based on the potential commune that I will have one day. My family of friends and I all have a goal to establish a commune in the next few years. I imagine a commune created between a tight knit group of people would be different than a commune that allows strangers to come and work on it as well.


1. What is the aim of a commune?

To live off the grid, to live in harmony with nature as much as possible, and to live and work with the people that I love the most. To establish an artist community of sorts. To hold musical festivals every summer in order to earn money to put back into the commune.

2. What is the leadership structure (I'm sure this varies)...but I notice when dealing with men or social mammals...without leadership, and clear cut rules, things deteriate.

Like I said, we're a tight knit group and we know how we all work together. When we establish a commune I don't think we'll need to establish leaders. We already know which of us have stronger leadership skills and I imagine we'll allow those people to assume natural leadership just like we do in other situations now. We've already worked out who will be in charge of what, so as long as everyone does their part I don't think we need a specific person in charge of telling people what to do.

3. Do communes have like their own constitution? Like a binding reference for all future rules or laws?

I don't think we'll need anything like that. We might come up with a verbal agreement of sorts.

4. Do communes attract lazy people who think once they show up, all they gotta do is sleep and smoke weed by a campfire?

I don't think that will be an issue with us. We aren't going to have the open type commune where people can just drop in and stay a while. New people will be allowed to come because someone on the commune already knows them and is aware of their work ethic.

5. How are disputes resolved?

I guess thats a trial and error thing that we won't figure out until we actually have a commune.

6. Are there like communal police? Judges? (members asigned that role)

I don't think that will be neccessary. We're basically a family.

7. Are communes race nuetral? (I'm sure that varies)

yes. i dont think race would ever be an issue.

I would be interested in coming back and answering these questions again once our commune has been established for a year or two.

 

The best piece of advice I have ever heard is that you should listen to those who are where you want to be in life.

You just need to figure out where that is first.

 

This is awsome...Hearing that your actually going to start or be in a commune, doesnt make me feel so batty...
Not many other forums I could bring this up on, without others thinking I was batty...

The Sean Hannity nation would attack me for even suggesting such a thing...but why not?
The Federal Government already pools all of our resorces through taxes and other forced mandated fees....America, when you think of it, or any nation, is already one big gigantic commune...

But it's bleeding and sucking all of us dry, as induvisuals...I see nothing wrong with co-operitave group living, as long as people can get along...

Teaming of resorces should allow people to live a better life..

Right now we're all pre-occupied with earning incomes, that's where all of our energy goes...our creative energy is spent during the day or night, working some mundane job...as such, many never reach full potential, many or much of our childhood senses or 'deadend' by the grind of day to day life...

I would hope that a commune would give some of that back to it's members...
Thanks for sharing that...

true true...

I realize now I can never be succesful in worldly terms, in Bill Gates terms...I can never generate or earn that type of dough...so why continue to go down that path...

But I can still be succesful in personal relationships, and the joy that comes from getting along with others...call it 'love'...or 'energy'...I don't know...

I just feel it when around the right people or souls...but that's something I and others can still be very succesful at, and it cost nothing...