Issue 176


Life Lessons for Community Longevity

Posted on November 1, 2017 by

The founder of Bellyacres Artistic Ecovillage profers advice inspired by the nearly three decades he was immersed in the experiment.


Why I Study Communal Societies

Posted on October 21, 2017 by

The study of intentional communities, both past and present, is a rich and rewarding enterprise for the student of political theory. The members of intentional communities, whether historic or contemporary,… Read More


Overcoming Our Americanness

Posted on October 11, 2017 by

Unless we learn from past and present communities, and collate lessons from our own, we will bob as separate crafts on the ocean of our uncooperative and ahistorical Americanness.


Intentional Community in a Nicaraguan Jungle: Honoring my duality through community practices

Posted on October 1, 2017 by

Through her experience temporarily “unplugging” to join a community emphasizing genuine connection and values-based living, an international law student gains lifelong lessons.


Tracing Windward’s Memeology

Posted on September 21, 2017 by

The Haudenosaunee, the Oneida Community, and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, with its vision of a “polyamorous line family,” all form part of Windward’s conceptual ancestry.


The Value of Community: What Defines Success?

Posted on September 1, 2017 by
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Short-term experiences of intentional community, and short-lived communities, can still have powerful, life-changing, and society-changing effects.


The Communal Studies Association

Posted on August 29, 2017 by

CSA and FIC partner to spread awareness of communal groups past and present and the vital lessons they offer, in areas ranging from conflict resolution, sustainability, and equality to the dangers of authoritarianism.


Learning from the Past, #176 Contents

Posted on August 28, 2017 by

Our Fall issue, sponsored in part by the Communal Studies Association, focuses on Learning from the Past. Current communitarians reflect on lessons from their own and their communities’ histories, and on inspiration from historical communities that inform their own efforts. Students of communalism share the outcomes of their research, including recipes for success and failure and other insights from past and present communities. Community seekers and founders describe what they’ve learned so far. Throughout, we explore how learning from the past can help us navigate the present and move toward a more vibrant, functional, cooperative future.