Other meanings of Commune
Agriculture & Society
An agricultural commune is a cooperative farming community in which land, resources, and labor are shared, often with collective ownership of the means of production and distribution of output. Such communes have existed across cultures and eras, from religious and utopian settlements to state-sponsored collectives, and they continue to inspire contemporary movements for sustainable and community-based agriculture.
Agricultural communes have arisen from diverse impulses: religious separatism, socialist ideology, and practical responses to land scarcity. The Hutterites, an Anabaptist group founded in the 16th century, established communal farming settlements in Central Europe and later North America, practicing shared ownership of property and goods. In the 19th century, utopian socialists like Charles Fourier and Robert Owen inspired experimental communities, such as New Harmony in Indiana, which aimed to combine agriculture with cooperative living. These early efforts often struggled with internal governance and economic viability, yet they laid groundwork for later movements.
In the 20th century, state-driven collectivization became prominent. The Soviet kolkhoz system, initiated in the 1920s, and Maoist China's people's communes (1958–1980s) sought to reorganize rural life around collective production. These state communes were often coercive and economically inefficient, leading to famines and eventual reform. In contrast, voluntary communes like the Israeli kibbutzim, founded in 1909, combined socialist principles with practical agriculture and evolved into successful economic entities.
In a typical agricultural commune, members collectively own land, tools, and livestock, and decisions are made through democratic assemblies or councils. Work is organized by committees or brigades, and the produce is either distributed according to need or sold, with profits reinvested or shared. Daily life often includes communal meals, shared childcare, and housing, which reduces individual costs and fosters solidarity.
The degree of collectivism varies. Some communes, like the Hutterites, practice absolute communal ownership, while others, such as many 1960s back-to-the-land communes, allowed private plots and personal property. The Israeli kibbutzim initially practiced full equality, but many have since privatized aspects of their economies. Gender roles also evolved; early communes often reinforced traditional divisions, but later movements emphasized equality, with women participating in all forms of labor.
The economic performance of agricultural communes has been mixed. State-mandated collectives in the Soviet Union and China often suffered from low productivity due to lack of incentives and poor management, contributing to agricultural crises. In contrast, voluntary communes like the kibbutzim have been remarkably successful, with some becoming industrial and technological hubs while maintaining agricultural bases. Studies of Hutterite colonies show high productivity and efficient resource use, attributed to strong social cohesion and shared values.
Socially, communes can provide security, education, and healthcare, but they may also limit individual autonomy and innovation. The tension between collective goals and personal freedom is a recurring theme, leading to reforms or dissolution. In China, the people's communes were dismantled in the early 1980s in favor of the household responsibility system, which boosted production. Similarly, many Western communes of the 1960s faded as members aged or moved on, but some persist as intentional communities.
Beyond the well-known examples, agricultural communes have taken surprising forms. In the 19th century, the Oneida Community in New York practiced complex marriage and communal child-rearing alongside farming and manufacturing. During the Spanish Civil War, anarchist collectives in Aragon and Catalonia collectivized land and ran agriculture collectively, achieving notable production gains before being suppressed. In Japan, the Yamagishi movement, founded in 1953, established communes based on the philosophy of Tatsuya Yamagishi, emphasizing non-violence and self-sufficiency.
In the United States, the New Deal's Resettlement Administration created cooperative farming communities for displaced farmers, such as the Delta Cooperative Farm in Mississippi, which promoted racial integration. More recently, ecovillages like Findhorn in Scotland and Auroville in India incorporate agricultural communes with sustainability goals. These examples show that agricultural communes are not a relic but a living experiment in alternative social organization.
This article focuses on the agricultural commune as a form of cooperative farming community, distinct from other uses of 'commune' such as medieval self-governing towns or the Paris Commune.
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