>I found a good bit of food for thought in your whole posting, but this
>in particular caught my eye. Some years ago I read a book about
>the Bruderhof; I believe it was called "The Joyful Community" but
>I may be misremembering this. At that time I was reading and thinking
>a great deal about intentional communities, more from the emotional/social
>side than from the economic side. Are you familiar with this book?
>If so, do you think it was a good portrayal of life in the
>community? I'd be interested in your comments.
>
>Rachel Silber
>rachel@ontos.com
Sorry, Rachel, I'm unfamiliar with the book. The Bruderhof was, (probably
still is) an intentional community. The location of which I'm speaking
was in upstate New York, although at the time there was one in the midwest
and a settlement in Paraguay. They were part of a movement that
originated in Germany (hence the name) and were a conscious attempt to
live like early Christians. Indeed, it was this religious focus which
held them together through much adversity, and also caused me (and some
others...) to leave in frustration. The "Central Committee" (my name, not
theirs) was not open to non-Christians, and although there was no
prosletyzing (sp?) as such, those of us more motivated by utopian social
egalitarianism than religious principle found ourselves somewhat isolated
and adrift in the environment. The Bruderhof was (and remains, I suspect)
a wonderful demonstration of the efficacy of socialist organization when
undertaken without political coercion, and the spirit of joyful sharing
and service was a model for the rest of the universe. I especially liked
the attitude they took toward the children, who were expected to join a
missionary group as young adults, but only if they chose to stay with the
community. About half did, as I remember.
-- jack@his.com (jack hirschfeld)