Towards A New Socailism. Chapter 12, Communes

In Towards a New Socialism in Chapter 12 the concept of a Commune of 50-100 people replacing the family unit. During it he mentions how people have to pay dues to the commune and in the commune, some commune service might have to be paid. In a family unit these thinks aren’t paid there just given. Based on this fact alone I find the family unit superior then a 50 person commune. I finished the chapter on Communes. Can someone please explain why the commune is a better form of organizing small groups of people on communes is better to organizing them based on families.

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Man, you're not even trying.

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It's impossible to predict the future. Of course the family unit will change/be abolished under communism but we do not know what it will actually look like. I agree, paying dues is stupid.

Why? Based on what I’ve read that dosen’t sound like a good thing.

Shure people should be more communal, but family units seem to be the best way of raising children.

Depends on what you mean by a "family". Some ultra-orthodox Jewish groups are heavily communal, with bio families often coming together as one big "family".

A family is child, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Children, parents, and grandparents share a house. Parents are obligated to take care of the grandparents. Most of the time when the people eat it’s food prepared by at least on member of a family.

WTF? There are no taxes in socialism. Not in USSR, not in Cuba, not in North Korea.

I was describing what the book Towards A New Socailism in Chapter 12 said.

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I havent read TNS but I have somethings to say about the Commune and the family.
The family (i.e. two parents and a child or children) as the core unit in raising children would still remain under socialism or a more communal society. Children would still go home to their parents after school or whatever. What would change is that the importance of the community and / or extended family in the raising of children. A child might learn skills or life lessons from a member of the commune, or seek advice that they might not be comfortable talking about with their parents for example. Childern would grow up with out alienation, where the neighbours and extended family would play much more important role in their upbringing then now. Think about how many people now in the westernized capitalist nations suffer from social anexity, depression, or deep social alienation. Think about how high the suicide rates are in places like Korea and Japan vs. how low they are in for example Greece. I dont think its a coincidence that the nuclear family is more important in Korea and Japan while the extended family is more important in Greece. There is ofc more too it but still.

Ok that makes a lot more sence.

oh and about food that you where talking about earlier. You could have communal shared kitchens alongside personal kitchens. There is a chapter in The Conquest of Bread that discuses this topic. I know its an anarchist book and your a Nazbol but its honestly one of the best descriptions of communal life. And with the technology we have now, the shared kitchens could be amazingly efficent. And remeber that just because food might be made in a shared kitchen you would not be forced to eat alone with your close family at home.

*you would not be forced to eat with the communes members I mean and you could eat at home if you wish

Read the orange book, nigger.

what book is that

What is that book?

From the other thread


Keep in mind that cockshott just says "hey it would be cool if we tried this".
People have lived in communes/tribes like that for most of our history. It would greatly improve social safety, mental support, improve the lives of the elderly, reduce isolation and on top of that it provides economical benefits. A commune can buy a pool for themselves non-rich people can't. A commune can buy industrial cooking equipment and cook collectively, allowing for fresher products to be made (bread) and lower preparation time overall.
I also disagree with cockshott on his "economy within an economy" ideas. Hutterites live in communes of similar size and they dont keep track of money and shit. Humans have the capacity to keep track and maintain good relationships with about 150-200 people (dunbars number). I imagine you could have extended families or communes like that without money.

Its just a small part of his ideas though, and one i personally dont see as anything more of an amendment in the guise of "by the way this could be cool, try it if you want". Its not a core part of his socioeconomic system.

Forgot to add:
I think cockshott is aiming more for the "small town community" feel than "we all have to live in multi-family mini-villages", and even then its only an idea that seems haphazardly added after he finished the book.

This. Fun fact: The early German version of TANS didn't even have that chapter.

The faggy libdem book?

Yeah, communal kitchens have efficiencies of scale going on. There is also the social aspect. As far as I know, all the incoming-sharing communes in Germany have communal cooking and eating.