Will communes make a comeback?

[Uben]

Remember in the seventies when flower-power love children grouped together in communes to live? With today's economy, we may just see such a phenomonen make a comeback. People getting together on a piece of land, cultivating crops, pooling funds, just to survive and live life the way they want to, without the troubles of the outside world. I think it's not only a possibility, but a probability. I'll admit, it sounds better than a nine to five cubicle job that promises us nothing more than 50-60 years of work-till-death. Better than greeting customers at Walmart when you are 75 yrs old!

Howzabout we get together at Yasgars Farm and talk about it?

[dysfunctional press]

1. i think that's a given.

some of us in my circle have talked about doing just that.

[Connie_Corleone]

2. I hope not. My aunt lived on one for awhile in the 70s. I guess she liked it.

I never liked the idea of it myself. I really have no interest in that sort of communal living.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

3. People will definitely start to live a little differently out of necessity

And yes, there will probably be a revival of communes and co-housing.

More extended families will live together out of necessity - adult children moving back home, siblings sharing houses, etc. Some of those McMansions might be snapped up by people who want to do the multi-generational thing. It would be pretty easy to retrofit them with in-laws, etc.

I have always thought that the elderly should co-habit for safety, security and companionship. Single older women make up a large component of those living in poverty. Those that are rattling about in homes that are too large for one and difficult for them to maintain should think about sharing their house and expenses with some compatible roommates - possibly give reductions in rent for maintenance and cooking/driving abilities.

[DCKit]

4. They never went away.

The new name is "intentional community" and they're everywhere.

http://www.ic.org/

[mucifer]

5. I'm thinking we will see more "boarding houses" where people rent a room and

maybe dine together.

[Uben]

6. I already live in one....kinda

I live in an unincorporated, gated, lake community. We have our own water supply, 4 wells, coop electricity, we maintain our own roads, have our own trash pick-up service, golf course and a library. There are about 1400 homes here. We make our own rules, have our own 24/7 security, and vote on everything. I've lived here for 16 yrs, and I'll probably die here. I like it. I grow a garden each year and fish the lake on a regular basis.

[DCKit]

7. Delete, Dupe

Seen it before, but never ten minutes apart.

[supernova]

8. I've considered it

especially when I become an old lady. It would be nice to live with others, you know in case something happens. Not that I expect it to, but still, past a certain point, it's not good to be alone.

[tama]

9. Tune in

All gardeners on Earth, unite! Nothing less than Paradise on Earth will do! :-)

They - we - are here. The gloval network of ecovillages (GEN) is allready budding, growing stronger. It is the way of future, learning sustainable way of life, our responsibility for future generations and Mother Earth. We will not go extinct in the foreseeable future, so we must do our best to relearn to live in balance, with ourselves, with Nature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecovillage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ecovillages
http://gen.ecovillage.org/
http://www.ic.org/

See also permaculture, natural farming, agroforestry.

[northofdenali]

10. Maybe not communes, per se, but

certainly communities geared toward self-sufficiency and, dear God, possibly survival.

I'm fortunate enough to have a house with a mortgage small enough to pay off, hopefully soon. Huge yard, nice infrastructure, a 24x36' shed that could easily become another (small) residence, two neighbors who feel the same way, and a greenhouse and garden area.

Survival in the far north isn't easy, but it can be done. Our gas prices haven't lowered at all since last September (still at $2.79/gallon) even though we have a refinery literally in our back yard. Heating fuel is just as high. There are no options "on the grid" here. Wood stoves are easy, optimal, and cheap. But the feds have said we can't use 'em because of temperature inversions (a weird phenomenon, we're in a "bowl", only happens when it's 30 or below) - the inversions make our "particles" unacceptable. Twice a year. Maybe. If they happen to measure that day.

If it comes down to the worst, I only hope that I can help others who don't have what I am fortunate enough to have - 2 motorcycles, a Jeep, a house and a good-sized lot. Can you imagine what those who fought so hard for us in WWII, came back and really established a "middle class" in the U.S. would think now? I know what my mom, who is 92, thinks - her kids (me), her grandkid (my daughter), her step-great-grandkid, et al, are, in her words "in deep shit".

Sacrifice? Ask those who went through the Great Depression and WWII. Not the Bushies, whose motto of "spend, spend - then spend more". My one great hope is that the entire Bush family will, through good karma, lose every fucking penny they have stolen from the American people since "Poppy" and his Nazi friends started their little enterprises.

In the meantime, I've got a grandchild whose parents are damn near homeless if they miss one pay check (rent), friends in the same condition. If I have to set up a fucking tent community in my yard, so be it. I'm hoping to sell this in-town piece of property and buy something similar with more room for more buildings a little farther out. It may mean a longer, colder bike ride, or a walk (bus routes are nonexistent outside of town here), but if it means a roof and warmth and food - I'll have it. So be it.

Wood is a sustainable fuel here. Solar (in winter) is not, given our possible 2 1/2 hours of daylight this time of year, when we really do need the power. Wind power isn't viable here, either. There is virtually no wind in the "bowl" of the North Star Borough. Wood or gas is it, and at 50 below, I'm not too worried about pollution "particles" when they're gone within a few days. Most of that is caused by the coal used by the city itself!

Yeah, I can dig a commune. :hippie: Been there, did that in the 70's - but it wasn't a survival thing. This might turn out to be.

President Obama, unlike pResident W, has the intelligence to understand the differences that climate makes. He's not going to treat Louisiana like Nebraska; nor will he treat California like Rhode Island. And I pray that he visits us here and understands that we ARE the Siberia of the United States. Alaska is not Anchorage, nor is it Wasilla (thanks, Sarah - my best friend/big brother lives there and you've made his town a laughingstock), nor is it Nome or Barrow. The whole of it is difficult to understand unless you live here for a while. Driving to Anchorage from Fairbanks is 360 miles by the fastest road (Parks Highway). It takes a minimum of 8 hours in the summer. It's 2-lane, twisty, through Denali National Park, tundra, hills, you name it, with few services near the road. THAT is our "highway system". I want President Obama to understand it, and I think he can.

We are NOT in a "repression" or a "fall back" or any other bullshit. We are in a DEPRESSION that mirrors 1929 - we just haven't felt it all yet.

Any DU'ers who need a commune or community are welcome here. Just have to put up with Big Oil advertising - and WHY do they advertise? - and a few leftover neocons who are on their way out. Alaska has always been very Libertarian in its political leanings; us Dems aren't immune to that, either, which is why, with Democratic Party major input back in 1958, our State Constitution is so strong.

Uben, I am sorry to have ranted on your post. I think it's important for fellow DU'ers to understand your question but am in the mood to respond like this because it's something I've been thinking about for months. Yasgur got nothin' on me!! We've got some great bands here, too!!

"Welcome to my house, I guess you all know why we're here" (Pete Townshend, Roger Daltry)

[Uben]

11. Hey, I 'm with ya

If I were young and had to face this crazy friggin world, it would look sweet to me to live in a commune.

I was a little young in '69, just fourteen, so I kinda missed the "Love Child" movement.

[islandmkl]

12. hello, fairbanks....i used to live on the Tanana out past Eielson...

it's been almost 30 years, but i still remember my address: SR 90324-G...we gave our 40 acres and cabin to our neighbors daughter, and i occasionally (admittedly not often this time of the year) entertain thoughts of a trip to the old place....i have a huge pre-pipeline wall map of Alaska, with certain locations on the highways and roads marked 'RH'...i enjoy telling my friends that 'RH' stands for Roadhouse, and what other state has a map that identifies places to eat, sleep and get (some) drinks as necessary map locations....

Sarah Palin might be Alaskan, but she definitely is not Alaska...

keep warm, and try to not miss the sunlight....

[northofdenali]

14. Sarah is no Alaskan!

She is a transplant. Maybe from Uranus.

If your wall poster is anything like the one I've got here in the "computer room" from 1974, it's pretty great! Pre-Pipeline Alaska was a time I'd like to see come again. The pipeline itself was and is an engineering marvel, but the people who came with it? JEEZ. Been on 2nd Avenue (Two Street) anytime after 1975? Texans, bible beaters, Oklahomans, bible beaters, etc, etc. This poor state had to absorb that - and, Texan/Oklahoman DU'ers? - I don't mean folks like you. I mean the slagging, oil-slinging, shit booted assholes who literally invaded this town, camped on our streets, brought their whores (literally - in trailers behind their pickups) and their Bibles with them, and destroyed Fairbanks in less than 4 years. Worse than Nixon did to us with Viet Nam, and worse than Reagan and the "Papal" visit - the red carpet from which is now in the Howling Dawg Saloon in Fox...

I don't miss the sunlight, because I get outside every time we have any! :P

The Tanana floods a lot nowadays. Most of the folks from Eielson to Delta who lived on the river have moved "across the Rich" to higher ground. Thanks, Corps of Engineers, for your Flood Control Chena River Project - they dammed the Chena, which of course flows into the Tanana, so when the Chena gets a little too high to suit the City of Fairbanks, they lower the gates........

There goes Salcha again. And, downriver, there goes Ester (Rosie Creek) and Nenana. Great ideas, these fed types..........

When you get back to the mainland, check in up here. There's always a place for ya!

[conscious evolution]

13. I live in one now,with several more in

my nieghborhood.
I highly reccommend it.It has cut my living expenses down in a major way.

[Selatius]

15. Farming co-ops are probably about as close to a commune nowadays.

A bunch of people coming together, incorporating, and growing food to sell at market, with the profits shared between all involved in a way they determine is the best way. Although, I don't see why a co-op only has to produce one product; it could diversify into other things such as woodworks, pottery, food canning operations, etc. If enough products are produced, it could become self-sustaining in terms of what it provides to the workers and to customers in the area.

[CTyankee]

18. My daughter has a share in one of those in MA.

It's great, she and her family get whatever is grown in each season. You can do half shares and full shares. She has 3 kids so she and her husband do the full share.

The farm also produces chicken and pork and dairy from their cows.

It's really quite stylish (I mean that kindly) in her suburb of Boston. The only drawback is the amount of time it takes her to get to the farm site.

This kind of farming has been around for about 100 years so it's nothing new.

[Horse with no Name]

16. I had a phone call yesterday

from a friend of mine who lives in the Northwest.
She has been sick, her husband has been laid off and they are unsure of their next move.
They think they can lease their home out and take off in their motor home and live in it.
However, she literally was CODE BLUE two weeks ago in the hospital.
They are afraid of losing their health insurance.
They are headed down this way to see what they can do. I have a large backyard that they can park their motor home off of my back porch and use my indoor facilities. There is a place that is hiring with good benefits not too far.
They have $25k and wanted to know if that would be a good down payment and I had to laugh and said they could BUY a house for that around here.
People are going to have to be diverse and willing to relocate during this mess.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

17. Remember all of those communes failing and disbanding?

It was never a particularly good idea to begin with. I tend to think of them as hippie homeowners' associations. You end up with one class of people doing all of the hard work, one class of people being lazy and gaming the system, and a bunch of political twits who are the exact equivalent of the people who run for president of their local homeowners' association so that they can impose their views on everyone else.

[The_Commonist]

19. I lived in two communes in the 80' and 90's

It wasn't just for unwashed hippies!
And it's not something that will work for everyone.

Living in community and working a cubicle job or at Wal-Mart are not mutually exclusive. In one of the communes I lived in, we had "hunter-gatherers" who had "straight jobs" and brought their income in and shared it with the community. Other members worked for the (quite lucrative) communal business. Everyone made about $1200 a month, but we lived like we made $50 grand each. That's what happens when you pool your resources.

The other community I lived in made certain that everyone had their own room, private space that they did not have to share, even with a spouse. In that community, there were those who chose not to participate much in the life of the community and others who did everything during every waking and sleeping moment for the group. And everything in between.

Both places managed very well inside of capitalism, but of course, they were not for everybody. I think that it would be nice if communal living, in all of its different flavors, could be a viable alternative for those who may be interested. Of course, Capitalism will not encourage this idea, and will most likely continue to make it look bad, because it means that groups will share "things" rather than everybody buying their "own thing." Capitalism does not like this idea, and has long done its best to atomize and isolate us in its quest for more profit. I think that if Intentional Community viewed itself as a "market" as well as a "lifestyle," then it may do better inside of capitalism.

The "ideal" of the hippie commune is pretty much dead in the real world, though not in people's minds. Now it's mostly co-housing, farm co-ops, eco-villages and the like. Check out the links provided above to IC.org and the others. It's pretty interesting stuff...

[LanternWaste]

20. If an adult lives with parents...

If an adult lives with parents, it's perceived as a sign of personal failure in the here and now. I don't see how or why communes would be any different.

[tama]

25. What have really failed

are the values (greed and selfishness) of the averadge consumer-person.

[madmom]

21. Just made the comment the other day about "extended families" living together again like

in the olden days. Everybody lived together in one house and helped each other out, it just might come to something like this!

[LanternWaste]

24. I would like to see that...

"Everybody lived together in one house and helped each other out"

I would love to see that; it's economical, it's financially prudent, and it's great for the environment to boot!

I'd never thought about it beforehand until I lived in Mexico, and I was shocked to see how incredibly close the vast majority of families were-- living together, shopping together, going out together. No stigma attached to it at all as there is in the U.S.

I imagine that we (to a degree) advertise our financial independence and wealth by getting out of our parents house as soon as possible -- and I bought into that also.

As many things as may be wrong with Mexico that we do not have in common, after living there for awhile, I realized that there even more things that are done right that we don't share, either.




I should travel the world more... :P

[HEyHEY]

22. I hope so... then I won't have to see them

[JVS]

23. Oh fuck no. Rather a small shack to myself than live with people