[Dan Evans]

Another way of looking at it is that the Anabaptists are born into their lifestyle. Nobody gets converted to be a Hutterite or Amishman. Mennonites are a different story, but that isn't such an austere existence.

But only a small percentage of Amish children leave now that they are branching into manufacturing. So it is remarkable how flexible humans really are.

I think communism fails because it is an inherently unstable monoculture. All it takes is for one evil person to take advantage of the system.

[jennyp]

I think communism fails because it is an inherently unstable monoculture. All it takes is for one evil person to take advantage of the system.

Your article mentioned that the communes split up after they reach 150 people. There's a lot of research that shows that the average person can keep track of relationships with at most 150 people. Above that size, an organization becomes too bureaucratic, and too many of the interactions become arms-length & impersonal, which erodes the constant, personal sense of being accountable for your actions. This is why large-scale communism can never work. IMO.