(p. 138): "But even the successful groups did not last forever, for there are other dilemmas to be faced by utopian communities."
(p. 139): "...even the long-lived communities eventually died. Their ends were a function not of the hardships and inevitable problems of communal life but of dilemmas arising from longevity itself. Many suffered a progressive deterioration of their communal ideals by virtue of the practical needs of existence. They had difficult problems of adaptation to a changing environment. They experienced an erosion of membership because of population aging and through loss of some of the second generation. They encountered a gradual skepticism over the possibility for realizing the ideals that had formed the original basis for communal existence. Finally, [they] faced a number of pulls away from communalism stemming from the nature of social life itself."
RESPONSE: A commune like any community will exist as long as it appears to be capable of fulfilling its members' version of a Wise Community made up of Wise Persons. When enough experience accumulates to make it clear that the society's vision is faulty, or that it cannot be achieved, then that commune or community will suffer stress and conflict.
Although other factors can divert attention from the key issue eventually all false goals will play themselves out and open the society to stress and change. Until a community gets it right it must change or be destroyed.
(p. 140): "Successful groups...faced many of the external crises that ended unsuccessful groups, but they had the collective strength, the commitment, to weather the blow."
(p. 191): Communes with Missions. "...these communes seek engagement and involvement...."
"Service communes define themselves as 'helpers' to the society. They choose a constituency, then concentrate their energies on reforming it. Their interaction with this constituency renews the sense of mission and zeal that binds the commune. The service adaptation makes it possible for a community to interact with the environment not out of weakness but out of strength, for the commune has something valuable to offer society. It is not dependent on the environment, but rather it develops an exchange relationship. All types of tools and techniques and behaviors from the society can be incorporated instead of rejected by the commune, since they're used against the current establishment order of the society in some way, in order to change it. This adaptation represents a kind of co-optation of elements from a threatening, intrusive environment."
(p. 193): "The vast majority of service communes are engaged in education or re-education."
RESPONSE: The above model would seem to come closer to applying to a CPASR.
(p. 215): "There is still much to be learned about the personal consequences of having a series of temporary relationships and a constant turnover in one's social network. Does it add variety and richness and enhance the ability to relate meaningfully to many different people, or does it eliminate the depth and sharing that comes from mutual commitment?"
RESPONSE: My vote would go to "eliminate[s] the depth and sharing that comes from mutual commitment." It would seem that the goal in relationships would be development of depth and dependability. Anything else is too superficial to provide adequate sustenance. See Chapter V, "Intimacy and a Science of Religion."
(p. 217): George Kateb in UTOPIA AND IT'S ENEMIES "argued that any 'perfect society' is ultimately unsatisfying. People need change, tension, and stimulation, conflict and war, to make life meaningful, he contended. People prefer not to be happy at all times. What Kateb pictured in the communes was a gray, lifeless, austere existence."
RESPONSE: Obviously, it is a contradiction of terms to say that a "perfect society" is ultimately unsatisfying. The most one could say is that persons who think about "perfect societies" must always have an inadequate vision of what are the attributes of a perfect society.
It is easy to see that one attribute of a Wise Community would need to be constant research to focus on deficiencies in its model and ways to correct these short comings. Such changes would seem to be most possible if the bigger society is made up of many sub-groups each with its own attributes.
At some level these groups would be in competition in the sense that trees in a forest are in competition. When circumstances change and one species dies out, the open space left is filled by a better adopted species. The new species provides an environment of shade, etc. that allows other species to grow and in turn be replaced when circumstances change.
Since groups have the potential for intelligent change those organizations capable of maintaining their dynamic, experimental character have the most potential to be able to change with the changing world. And we must keep clearly in mind that change is the most consistent element in our universe.
Since the concept of a SFLIHM is focused on meaning not happiness this would deal with part of Kateb's legitimate concern. As indicated above, no Wise Community could have the characteristics he attributes to a "perfect society."
(p. 218): George Kateb: "Truly, what could be more depressing than the series of attempts to set up utopian communities in America in the nineteenth century?... The noble experiment had to conclude in a corrupting spiritual pride. The retreat from reality could not help attracting people who were merely eccentric; utopias could not help becoming havens for neurotics; the life lived could not help being meager in texture and lacking in complexity. For all these reasons, these utopian communities can excite contempt."
"Such contempt, however, is not supported by the evidence....There is, in fact, some evidence to support the opposite conclusion -- that utopian communities may reduce some of the traumatic consequences of life in America."
(p. 220): "Creating a utopian group that is highly fulfilling and provides for all of a person's needs is not incompatible with that same group seeking adventure, challenge, or even struggle."
RESPONSE: Kateb's remarks show very clearly a deep ignorance about human motivations and human needs. He equates contact with reality as living the boring, pointless life that best characterizes how the average American uses up their life. There is no bigger purpose than being in touch with the pain our economic, social, religious systems force upon each pilgrim. If focusing one's life on the true values of human life are seen as "being meager in texture and lacking in complexity" then one must question the validity of Kateb's interpretation of the goals's of human life.
(p. 220): "...why should anyone work in utopia?...the fact is that people work for causes and challenge beyond making sure they will eat or be paid. In a commune, they work to sustain the transcendent meaning of the community; they work because the effort may be intrinsically satisfying, may be chosen work; or they work because they are committed to the other people in the group and want, positively, to do their share to ensure the collective welfare and, negatively, to avoid the disapproval of people they love. Such a system does not operate perfectly, of course, and communal history is full of shirkers, idlers, and hangers-on."
RESPONSE: Anyone who has examined societies must realize that the motivation for work like all other motivations has a deep social dimension. Even where one appears to be working for money -- unless there is a true neurosis -- the goals are really social in nature: prestige, acceptance, cooperation, etc.
Even when one is doing exactly what they want in order to fill inner needs -- those inner needs develop out of their socialization and acceptance of someone's values about what is important and worth doing.
Even shirkers, idlers, and hangers-on demonstrate their socialization -- except in the possible case of true disabling neurosis. When they use every means possible to avoid work they either demonstrate their lack of awareness of group needs, or show their acceptance of someone's belief that the smart person doesn't work, but lets the dummies do the work, etc.
(p. 226): "There are nevertheless vast segments of the society still relatively untouched by the search for what, after all, remains primarily a white middle class utopian vision, pursued mostly by those unfulfilled by affluence who turn to their emotions for salvation."
RESPONSE: Of course finding the vision that truly fulfills the deepest needs in all persons is the primary challenge. Certainly, this will not come easily or immediately. This is a point where study of individuals in a context of a theoretical structure -- Wise Persons and Wise Community -- is an essential element for success. Providing the essential elements to help each person move toward becoming their best self will be an infinite task. Therefore, attention must be focused where there is the most likelihood of success. In that way these persons are able to help the process grow and spread.
(p. 227): "At one time the Shakers had six thousand members, but these were organized into eighteen villages located in different parts of the country. Kibbutz planners indicate that if a kibbutz becomes larger than a thousand, many problems ensue. The Hutterites have over ten thousand members, but they are divided into villages of about one hundred each, and when any one village grows too large, another is started."
RESPONSE: This kind of data will be important to utilize when CPASRs are established and developed. However, by and large CPASRs will need to utilize a different model since most of them will develop in large cities, not villages. Therefore, they'll need to find ways to achieve the kind of warmth and support a commune provides in a much more open environment. Also, in my mind a Wise Community can be made up of millions of people. To achieve the positive results that define a Wise Community, very different ways of organizing and providing human connections must be found.
(p. 230): "It is a social psychological canon that extra-group conflict heightens intragroup cohesiveness, that having an external enemy gives a group added strength."
RESPONSE: It seems to me the human capacity to experience "non-group members" as a threat that unifies the "in-group" is a characteristic that needs to be overcome. It undoubtedly served the species well at a certain point in our evolution, but now it threatens our survival. To develop a Science of Religion and a Religion of Wisdom where every person must be seen as our comrade we must master these "in-group," vs. "non-group" feelings. It can be done, but it won't happen automatically.
What must be done is to re-direct this human propensity to its proper target, ignorance. In a very real way, we individually, and collectively -- the human species and all other species -- are threatened by factors we don't even know about. That is why achieving knowledge is a key element of the Wise Person and the Wise Community. Although working together to better understand how the universe works in order to improve the quality of life for more persons, and better understand how to counteract the threats that face us may not have the frenzied emotional appeal of fighting the next village, or the "Red Menace," or someone who looks very different from us, but it should be a more healthy effort and one which builds rather than destroys as most such conflicts do.
(p. 230): "Historically, close community has provided warmth and security, but it has been tyrannical, antiliberal, and static (conformist small towns)."
(p. 234): "...the question for the future is how to promote the growth of the individual and to respect their privacy in the context of a close loving community that also has the degree of organization needed to continue to meet the needs of the individuals within it."
RESPONSE: This is the key aspect of the Wise Person in a Wise Community. Since there is no conflict between these two, just the opposite, both are essential to the other. However, this process must develop the individual in ways no previous society has ever envisioned. Certainly none of the communes Kanter discusses were even on the right path as far as this element is concerned.
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