Capitalist pain hits a village commune

CNN ^

[The Lion Roars]

How is this different from a beijing sweatshop??

[stylin19a]

pier 1 stopped buying in 2004. They just now got the word ?

[liberty_lvr]

"I hoped we would be financially secure by now," says founder Kat Kinkade, 75. "We're not."

But, but...communism is going to save the world so we can all live in peace and financial security! The TV told me so. How can this be??

[atomicpossum]

The real world cuts through the bong smoke.

[Moose4]

Because it's all about them channeling their karma and their chi, dude. And helping the environment, maaaan. And, like, being socialist, dude.

Besides, the oppressed in a sweatshop don't get weed, bra. Puff puff pass.

(/sarcasm)

These guys are about an hour up the road from here. We should get some folks to crash the place with a couple thousand gallons of soapy water and some fire hoses and help preserve the environment by washing off the patchouli oil that covers the funk.

[Conservomax]

because like it's a lifestyle, man. $2 dollars aday is enough to buy twigs and berries which is what Adam ate, dude.

Plus, we grow our own tofu on the tofu tree man. Oh yeah and we also grow and sell weed over at teh local Community college.

[Conservomax]

Maybe they should sell some of their 500 acres to the state so they can build affordable housing.

Land owning pigs.

How much money do you think "Apple" would see if they sold say 200 acres for 15 million?

I'd say she would see about $2.

I want my 2 dollars!

[Old Seadog]

What a bunch of fools. Who are they trying to kid, themselves?

[DBrow]

He he, think Steely Dan, "Only a Fool Would Say That"!

A world become one, of salads and sun, only a fool would say that..

[TomSmedley]

What ideology holds this group together? According to one rumor I heard, it was B F Skinner's "Walden Two" behaviorism. Can someone help me out here?

[Archon of the East]

Communism relies on capitalism one way or another. Just consider the commune a poorly run corporation

[varyouga]

"How is this different from a beijing sweatshop??"


Check it out:


http://www.twinoaks.org/FAQ.html


So lemme get this straight. You work a minimum of 42 hours a week. You get 1 bedroom, share a car with 3 other people, eat crappy soy hippie food and only get 75 bucks a month to spend in the outside world.

It sounds like a regular communist paradise. I'll bet they also have a corrupt leadership.

[The Lion Roars]

hilarious!!

[posterchild]

I've no problem with this commune as its membership is voluntary and they require no money, participation, or acknowledgement from me.
Is it really any different from a tight knit community or enclave following a common set of beliefs?

[theDentist]

How is this different from a beijing sweatshop??

These yahoos are there voluntarily, and believe that sh**.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The Tragedy of the Commons.

[shezza]

Other members argue that salvation lies in ramping up Twin Oaks tofu.... the tofu hut is a literal sweatshop: hot, damp, and factory-like. The tofu managers have had a hard time persuading residents to pick up the extra shifts that are needed to expand production.... There's concern that the communal culture will change if members are pushed into the scheduled, repetitive, money-oriented labor that many of them joined Twin Oaks to escape. If that happens, some residents will probably move on.

First, eeeewwwwww. Second, join the 21st century, people. Third, to make a profit and actually become self-sustaining, they need to embrace capitalism, not eschew it. But I guess they're learning that the hard way.

By the way, land here in Central Virginia is going through the roof. They could certainly raise a nice bit of capital by selling a few of their 450 acres to a developer, but that would defeat the purpose of their self-imposed isolation/insulation from "the real world." Oh, the decisions we face. For some reason this clan of aging hippies brings to mind T.S. Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock:

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—
Almost, at times, the Fool.

[Teflonic]

This is directly from their website: Activism: Twin Oakers are involved in a variety of activist work. Some social justice activities that members have participated in include serving food to the homeless with Food Not Bombs, working at a battered women's shelter, going to demonstrations, animal rights work, protesting the School of the Americas/Assassins in Georgia, writing letters for Amnesty International, participating in Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans/Queer Pride marches, and more. While many individuals at Twin Oaks engage in activist activities, as a community we do not officially endorse any particular course of political activism (i.e. members do this work as individuals, not in the name of community).

I laughed thinking of what would happen if Anne Coulter along with a few dozen protest warriors and freepers moved in. Would it change their society? Their section under "conflict" states all must be treated equally and their views respected...

[Poser]

They aren't bothering me. More power to them. They chose a tough life. Note: "Chose" is the operative word.