Feb 20: Utopian Societies

 The group at the last meeting of BQ discussed their interest in examining Utopian Societies at our next meeting.  To put some context into the discussion I prepared this linked document that identifies many societies that have existed in the past (mostly), what they stood for, how they conducted themselves, and why they ultimately failed.  This list is certainly not comprehensive, but it does cover a broad spectrum of ideologies that drove people to attempt to live in what they felt would be an ideal way, for whatever reasons they embraced.  I encourage you to explore these in more detail, esp. the Oneida Community in upstate New York which still exists as a viable entity today.  They were one of the most idealistic groups when they started, but they fell prey to public litigation concerning their sexual practices, among others.

I added a short section that summarizes the Fruitlands Farm commune that was formed in the 1840's in Massachusetts by the Alcott family and others, in a book that was written by Louisa May Alcott who lived in the farmhouse and participated on the farm.  I read the book years ago, and I feel that the summary provided by CoPilot does a good job covering the main points of the book.  There are some very interesting characters at the commune that Louisa discusses in the book, but these characters are not mentioned in the summary.  Ultimately Ms. Alcott points out the irony (hypocrisy?) that existed among the members based on everyone's dependence on Mrs. Alcott (Louisa's mother) to cook and clean, care for the children, work in the fields, etc., while the men spent their days in philosophical arguments about idealistic intentions.  Wild Oats, indeed.

The third section addresses the question, are the Amish a utopian society?  The information provided makes a case that they are in many ways, and it summarizes how their community has found ways to persevere and grow to some extent despite the many obstacles they face from internal and external sources.   

Feel free to add comments in the space below if you have something you want to share with the group before our meeting.