OK I might be weird but the communal living idea does not seem that bad of an idea. There are many types of Communal Living Communities out there with many different visions for what they want.
- Some are Eco Conscious (Dancing Rabbit Eco Village)
- Some are for Religious Reasons (FLDS, Branch Davidians, Hutterite, Bruderhof, Shakers, Jesus People)
- Some are for Economic Reasons (Today this is becoming more common)
- Some are because of a legacy of the 60's and 70's
- Some are because of a rebuilding of an area (Israel use communal Communities called "Kibbutz" to transform Israel )
- Some for Political Reasons
I would be driven for a communal living for both Religious and Political....That being said here are my 5 reasons why I could possibly live in a communal living community.
Reason 1 - Support.
In a communal living situation you are living in a community with like minded beliefs as your own. Alot of times you will come together in those beliefs. If I were to live in a Christian communal living community there would be a community that would pray together, worship together, share together, cry together, rejoice together, share daily activities together and this would be a almost daily occurrence. Had a bad day? Your communal "brother" would have been there and know exactly how you felt and would be able to encourage you....
You would also be able to support others more effectively because you would know what they are going through. You would be able to respond to needs of an individual because you are there.
There would be also situations where everyone would be going through the same situations together. Where you could truly see you are not the only one going through this.
Reason 2 - Separation from Main Stream (AKA The World)
This is not implying a total cutoff from the world...but the ability to come together and from a Christian point of view and create a place where there are not as many distractions from God. You are not being bombarded with things that the communal living community has found unacceptable and you have agreed as unacceptable or else you would not be living there. You have the ability to relax and not be on guard for what potential problem lies on the next corner.
Things like murder, stealing and rape become less of a problem within the community because you personally know these people and you would have to look in the face of these people everyday.
Random acts of love would become common... you would know these people ....you work with them....eat with them... you would want the best for them. It would not be a matter of if I help them anymore ...it would be more of a matter how can I help them? And not only you would be helping ..the whole community together would help....unlike the would ..which tends to show in some cases if you close your eyes hard enough ..maybe just maybe you cant hear the sceams of the hungry child in the alley next to your apartment.
Reason 3 - Maximizing the use of Resources
Maximizing of the use of resources is one of those that effects every area of you life. There are many areas where this works so well in a communal living community.
When you need something you may not need to buy it. The communities resources are your resources. Dont have a lawn mower ...well you don't need to buy one "so in so" has one for communal use. Need a pickup truck to move something because it does not fit in your vehicle ...you don't need to rent one ...you've got one..."so in so" has a truck for communal use and he will even help you move it.
Some communal living communities get together and provided daily needs
Resources. Some of the community would farm, some would be furniture makers, some would be plumbers, some would be electricians but all would come together and use there services for the benefits of the community. And some of those services could be sold outside the community to provide money for the community. Some benefits to this would be they would providing services for free and there would be no shoddy work ...you know them and where they live and you would also have a service that they might need sometime.
Food. Some communities get together for meals. They would eat the meals together, prepares the meals together, clean up the meals together. It would be a community meal everyday. You would become more like a family than neighbors.
Reason 4 - Raising of Children
You've heard it takes a village to raise a child and this is even more true in a communal setting. In today's society raising children is important. We look at the world and see our children being influenced by so many things that we would rather not see. The communal living setting would provide the children with stability and allow children to interact safer in a community which shares the same beliefs as you do.
The adults in the community would help you raise your child...it would be a collective effort of the community...Your child would learn that they need to respect the people around them. if your child acts disrespectful you would know about it...There would be no disrespect of your neighbors and if there was there would be a sorta "old school" mentality...your child would hear how they disrespected the neighbor from both the neighbor and then from you after you found out what they did. Your child would be held accountable.
They would also be able to interact with the world in safe doses...they would be able to see the world from the outside and at some point decided for themselves if they wish to be in the community or go out and live on their own.
They would learn about responsibility from the adults in the community. Learning that what you do affects everyone around you and that you are responsible for your actions to the group..this goes into the next reason.
Reason 5 - AccountabilityThere would be a large amount of accountability expected from you. You would be responsible for your help in the communal living community. You would be responsible to the community and they would be responsible to you. you would share what you had for the benefit of the community..which in the end would benefit you. As the musketeers says "ALL FOR ONE, and ONE FOR ALL"
They depend on you and you depend on them. You would know how you actions, beliefs, thoughts, ideas, feelings, work ethic, etc. effects all the people around you and you would appreaciate it. You would also appreciate the other peoples responsibility to you and would be come dependant upon it. In a world that is undependable ...some dependability would be good.
All in All a communal living community could be a good thing... you could decided why type of community you would live... one that if fully functioning within it self or one where you go on in your daily lives and function as a community at home. You could choose which type of reasons you want to support...Eco...political...economic.... You would have freedom to join or not to join...stay or leave. It would be a choice
Would you
or
If you could find the right Communal Living Community ....would you....could you..... decided to live in one?
True 
Lifetime
Comments (5)
FUCK YEAH! I wish there was like say a ball like where everyone could just live and like live there :3
My family is sort of like that. We have loose communal tendencies. A lot of our property is in more than one of our names. Bank accounts, insurance, cell phones all hopelessly entangled. I may have six homes or no homes depending on how you look at it. We recently sold our old family home and put the proceeds into a family medical fund. We share in caring for the all of the children. We don't live in a commune or even all in the same state but we are so entangled in each others lives that we are tied securely together by love and life. Being so close knit can have it's downsides too. Accountability is a good thing but it can also seem a bit harsh at times. Inviting a new member into the family can also be a challenge. In our independent minded society most people think we are a bit crazy to make sacrifices to support each other. They may be right.
this is an outpost of heaven.. reserve a place for me!
i don't know about on such a large scale, but i lovvve living in community! I just moved out of a house of 9 (two kids, a married couple, and four other 20-27 year olds) in Los Angeles, and it was so beautiful. The door was always open, and there was always extra places set at dinner for random people in the community to enjoy/etc. Before that I was sharing an apt with 3 others in brooklyn, but the entire building was owned by the church i was working with, and it was like a community in that the apts were all pretty much one house. By far the best, though, was in Amsterdam, where I got to live in this huge building/house, with 40 other people! It was the most beautiful experience of my life, and I'll treasure those people forever. I don't know how it would have worked, though, had it not been for everyone trying to reach the same goal: living like Jesus. (obviously a failure... but when everyone is trying, it makes for a very harmonious, personal-growth-challenging, and loving house)
You're out of your friggin minds! Idiots!