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Finkelstein submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology Signatures of Committee: Chair: Dean Af the College Date 1995 The American University Washington, D.C. 20016 THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1381576 UMI Microform 1381576 Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION To my loving parents, Robert and Beverly Finkelstein, my brother and sister, Michael and Lori, and to those who have followed the road not taken Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. COMMITMENT AND COMPROMISE: Or a Tale of Two Communities BY MARNI J. FINKELSTEIN ABSTRACT This thesis explores the forces behind the long term survival of two intentional communities. Formal organization, rules, and commitment to common values are necessary for community longevity. However, adaptability to societal forces is also essential. Therefore, is it possible for intentional communities to adopt survival techniques without compromising some o f their original values? I undertook fieldwork consisting of interviews and observations at two long-lived intentional communities: Shannon Farm and The Farm. I asked questions related to the themes of alienation, community, and the necessary survival techniques the communities have adopted over the years. Threats to these communities included external pressure in the case of the Farm and internal pressure in the case of Shannon. The Farm had to compromise their entire economic system in order to overcome financial woes, while Shannon members discovered a way to manage internal strife and increase their commitment to the community. u Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the many people who have helped me with this research project: Thank you, Dr. Brett Williams, for all your time spent advising and guiding me towards my goal of a Master’s Degree in Anthropology. Your expertise in contemporary American issues was greatly valued throughout this project. Thank you to the second member of my committee, Dr. Jeff Fishel. Your first-hand experience of communal societies and contacts at Shannon Farm helped me immensely. Finally, I would like to thank the members of Shannon Farm and the Farm. Without their hospitality and cooperation, this paper would not have been possible. 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 2. IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS...:A BRIEF HISTORY OF AMERICAN COMMUNAL SOCIETIES........................................................... 5 The Early Utopias ................................................................................... 5 Postindustrial America ............................................................................ 6 Contemporary Communal Societies..................................................... 10 Commitment and Compromise as a means of Survival .................... 15 3. HEADING SOUTH ............................................................................................. 19 Shannon - The Community in the Mountains .................................... 20 The Farm - The Spirit of the Hippies ................................................ 24 4. THE FARM ......................................................................................................... 29 5. SHANNON FARM ............................................................................................... 46 6. COMPROMISE AND COMMITMENT............................................................ 63 APPENDIX A ..................................................................................................... 70 APPENDIX B ..................................................................................................... 71 APPENDIX C ..................................................................................................... 72 APPENDIX D ..................................................................................................... 73 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................ 74 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. — Robert Frost Purpose Intentional communities are not just a relic of a bygone era. With increasing divorce rates, delaying marriage, and the choice to remain childless, more and more people are turning to group houses, co-ops, and intentional communities as an alternative to the nuclear family. Intentional communities offer people a way to share resources, make friends, and be part of an extended "family." The communities explored in this thesis could be used as models of communities that have survived the odds and beyond. They have faced threats to their survival and adopted ways to combat them. And the fact that intentional communities are still being formed after hundreds of years provides some evidence that they are a viable alternative to a traditional, middle-class lifestyle. Through field research and an exploration of relevant literature, this thesis will investigate the motivations leading to the formation of two intentional communities (or 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 communes) in the late 1960s and early 1970s and the forces that led to their long term survival while the majority collapsed after a few years. A review of intentional communities demonstrates that formal organization and commitment to common values is necessary for the survival of a community. However, in a constantly evolving society such as the United States, adaptability to outside societal forces is equally as important. Therefore the significant questions that this thesis will explore are: what are the techniques that two long-lived communities have used to combat threats to their survival and did they manage to adopt these survival techniques without compromising some o f the values that led to their creation in the first place? To investigate this question, I visited two intentional communities in August of 1994 -- The Farm and Shannon Farm. The two were founded on very different ideologies and were politically, spiritually, and economically organized in different ways, yet both had managed to survive for over 20 years. Field research consisted of interviews and observations. The threats to the communities came in the form of external pressure in the case of the Farm and internal pressure in the case of Shannon. While the Farm had to compromise their economic equality