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Experiments in Living
It is estimated that there are over 3000 intentional communities in this country and 400-500 scattered around Europe and Japan. On source of information about them is the "Communities" magazine which is printed by the Twin Oaks commune (Box 426, Louisa, Va.), and is affiliated with the Modern Utopian put out by the Alternatives Foundation. The Modern Utopian and "Communities" both consist in writings by communalists about their experiences, plans, and hopes. The publication and distribution of "Communities" is a joint venture of three or four communes and underground organizations.
Intentional communities are experiments in living, laboratories for value science, and for counter-culture science and technology, and for new adventures in religion, architecture, media and publishing, and other activities. The publications mentioned are largely for participants rather than outside observers.
The intentional community or commune is not one thing, but a great variety of things. In the first issue of "Communities" there is a list of almost 100 communes with brief descriptions of their orientation and activities. One can get an idea of their variety from this. They do not all live on farms, for instance. Probably a quarter of those listed are urban or suburban. Indeed, only about 27 are mainly farming communities. Many of the financially successful communes have cottage industries such as health food stores, rock bands, publications or small manufactures of some sort. More than half of the communes are explicitly religious, about half Judaeo-Christian and half other. Of the other, about half are one sort of Oriental religion or practice. Only a few of the communes explicitly mention communal or other unusual marriage. Some of the communes do not have communal property. Over half the communes publish newsletters, or books, and more than a fourth operate schools or seminars. At least 12 of those listed are involved in therapy or encounter groups. At least 8 are mainly organized around counter-culture science and technology. Some of the intentional communities (at least 4) are behaviorist or gestaltist. At least as many list themselves as anarchist. Many mention pacifism or ecology or social action. At least a half-dozen are unclassifiable in usual categories, which is interesting. It shows they are doing things for which we haven't even coined terms.
The diversity in the communities is even greater than these categories indicate. Some are very strongly centralized around one person; others very decentralized. In some communities there is strong discipline and order; in others anarchy (yet, they sometimes work that way).
There was a great rush to construct communities in the late sixties. Perhaps as many as 10,000 existed briefly, most of them miserable and disillusioning trips, with most people living on some form of welfare, and ripping one another off in sexist, racist, ego trips. There are very depressing accounts of this first phase of the new communalist movement, and lessons learned. The accounts of communal life after about 1972 seem more optimistic and encouraging. New communities are constantly being formed and old ones going out of existence, and the ones that have survived for five years or more must be regarded as successes in one sort or another. There is now a movement to organize the communes and improve cooperation and communication among them.
It requires tremendous energy and commitment to start or even join an intentional community. The communalist is the new pioneer, not necessarily in the sense of going back to primitive home-steading, but in the sense of doing something very difficult, very individualistic and self-reliant, in which the activities of a few thousand people over a few generations could change history and enlarge the possibilities for everyone.
In science we learn mainly from serious attempts which fail. Most do fail, for lack of support of the outside larger community, and lack of agreement by the communalists on all the essential components of community life. Recognition of the unique significance of the intentional community as a laboratory for value science may alleviate part of the problem.