# Can we intentionally be a community? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 21, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940 "2013-05-21T16:39:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Respectfully\_Yours](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Respectfully\_Yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Respectfully_Yours)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/1 "2013-05-21T16:39:47Z")
I have always wanted to join an intentional community. But I love the random chaotic beauty of strangers and I feel I would miss them. I wish that we could bring these values of all working towards shared goals out of intentional communities and into our daily lives. I wrote more about this in my blog. [http://respectfullyoursblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/](http://respectfullyoursblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/) I hope you like it. So I guess my question is this: Could the world today ever truly intentionally behave as a community? It is a distinct pleasure sharing the Earth with all of you! Respectfully, Yours ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/2 "2013-05-21T17:01:30Z")
It seems like an intentional community would have to have a common purpose that is strong enough to convince them to move there, and keeping this community together would mean everyone either agreeing on most other points, or everyone agreeing to disagree on all points except for the one that drew them together in the first place. Communities built around cults usually work because there is a charismatic leader that settles disputes. ---
**Author:** ![Respectfully\_Yours](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Respectfully\_Yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Respectfully_Yours)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/3 "2013-05-21T17:35:06Z")
Agreeing to disagree. This is what want for all of us. Truth, Love, and acceptance. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/4 "2013-05-21T17:36:49Z")
> [@Respectfully\_Yours](#): > > Agreeing to disagree. This is what want for all of us. Truth, Love, and acceptance. And what would be the one unifying concept in the intentional community you would want to live in? ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/5 "2013-05-21T17:53:10Z")
Not in any sort of uniform way, no. Individual humans simply vary too much to agree on shared goals, on how to work toward them, on which portion of the work falls to whom, and so forth. Even societies that practice high amounts of coercion don’t get uniform results, so it certainly won’t happen voluntarily. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/6 "2013-05-21T18:05:51Z")
Another problem with an intentional community is the job situation. People like to live near where they work, or at least near a means to get to their job, and asking them to move away to another community for a common purpose is asking a lot in both time and money. ---
**Author:** ![Respectfully\_Yours](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Respectfully\_Yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Respectfully_Yours)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/7 "2013-05-21T18:12:30Z")
That is keen insight. However, I tend to be optimistic to a fault. I agree that there are some people who would prefer to keep things as they are. I just wish I could live to see the day that we at least tried. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/8 "2013-05-21T18:15:59Z")
> [@Respectfully\_Yours](#): > > That is keen insight. However, I tend to be optimistic to a fault. I agree that there are some people who would prefer to keep things as they are. I just wish I could live to see the day that we at least tried. Again, what greater purpose would your community unite around? ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/9 "2013-05-21T18:16:19Z")
The closest thing you’ll see that might succeed is a sub-world-level intentional community. By having self-selecting participants, which “the world” naturally does not, you can mitigate some of the individual-variation problem, at least for the first generation. Children aren’t self-selecting, so you’ll have the same problems in the future even if your founding group is boundlessly committed and idealistic. ---
**Author:** ![Respectfully\_Yours](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Respectfully\_Yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Respectfully_Yours)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/10 "2013-05-21T18:16:30Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And what would be the one unifying concept in the intentional community you would want to live in? The one unifying concept being improving our health and quality of life, via reducing work load on individuals by sharing the load. I’m speaking exclusively of the middle class of course. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/11 "2013-05-21T18:24:38Z")
> [@Respectfully\_Yours](#): > > The one unifying concept being improving our health and quality of life, via reducing work load on individuals by sharing the load. I’m speaking exclusively of the middle class of course. Too vague. If you want a bunch of middle class families to unite into a community you are going to have to give them something solid to unite around. There is no consensus when it comes to improving health or improving the quality of life. Give me a solid reason to leave my community and join yours. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/12 "2013-05-21T18:32:06Z")
> [@Respectfully\_Yours](#): > > The one unifying concept being improving our health and quality of life, via reducing work load on individuals by sharing the load. I thought we were an autonomous collective. 😛 “Enlightened self-interest” is a lousy thing to base a community on. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/13 "2013-05-21T18:32:06Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Again, what greater purpose would your community unite around? To keep the wrong people out, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/14 "2013-05-21T18:38:53Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > To keep the wrong people out, of course. In a way, you’ve pointed out a problem: How does an intentional community stop those with different goals from moving in without breaking discrimination laws? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/15 "2013-05-21T18:54:02Z")
Money. Just like they do now. ---
**Author:** ![Respectfully\_Yours](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Respectfully\_Yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Respectfully_Yours)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/16 "2013-05-21T19:20:26Z")
I don’t want people to move into **my** community. I want people in our country at least to who are capable of doing so to be tolerant and accepting of others. I realise that this is too much to ask of some people. But for those who can imagine such a place. I would like basic needs such as shelter and food to be a joint concern of ours. Outside of individual communities. The middle class struggles much more as individuals than we would as a united entity. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/17 "2013-05-21T19:32:58Z")
> [@Respectfully\_Yours](#): > > I don’t want people to move into **my** community. I want people in our country at least to who are capable of doing so to be tolerant and accepting of others. I realise that this is too much to ask of some people. But for those who can imagine such a place. I would like basic needs such as shelter and food to be a joint concern of ours. Outside of individual communities. The middle class struggles much more as individuals than we would as a united entity. I thought we were actually talking about [Intentional Communities.](http://www.ic.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/18 "2013-05-21T19:44:06Z")
Me too. **Respectfully, Yours** , if you just want people in your country to be more communal, well, to some extent that depends on culture and material circumstances, but we’re set up to be self-interested by nature, and there’s no getting around that without getting into genetics or transhumanism. ---
**Author:** ![horhay\_achoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@horhay\_achoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horhay_achoa)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/19 "2013-05-21T20:12:11Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > Me too. > > **Respectfully, Yours** , if you just want people in your country to be more communal, well, to some extent that depends on culture and material circumstances, but we’re set up to be self-interested by nature, and there’s no getting around that without getting into genetics or transhumanism. I think being self interested does not rule out cooperation, though. It can be in everyone’s best interest to work together to pull everyone up. > **[Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_Aid:_A_Factor_of_Evolution)** > > Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution is a 1902 collection of anthropological essays by Russian naturalist and anarchist philosopher Peter Kropotkin. The essays, initially published in the English periodical The Nineteenth Century between 1890 and 1896, explore the role of mutually beneficial cooperation and reciprocity (or "mutual aid") in the animal kingdom and human societies both past and present. It is an argument against theories of social Darwinism that emphasize competition and survival of ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940/20 "2013-05-21T20:38:45Z")
😕 I thought the SDMB _WAS_ an intentional community. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-intentionally-be-a-community/658940.md?page=2)