Bruderhof factories: Difference between revisions
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The Bruderhof (meaning “community of brethren”) are a | The Bruderhof (meaning “community of brethren”) are a network of eight Christian communist communities, each with about 300-400 people, spread out in the United States and England. They live without private property and with very few personal possessions. The Bruderhof communally provide meals, basic education, and health care, and they communally own their cars. When someone needs to pay for something like tuition for medical school, they draw from communal funds. Although the Bruderhof society is hierarchical, their factories are not.<ref>Kovel, Joel, ''The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World?'' (New York: Zed Books, 2007), 207-212.</ref> | ||
The Bruderhof factories produce learning aids for students at schools and disability centers. Factory workers come and go whenever they please, and they report to no boss. "Nor is there any hierarchy within the factory," writes the ecosocialist Joel Kovel. Factories have managers, but they "have no particular authority beyond their differentiated task". The factories do not accumulate wealth beyond what is needed to support the Bruderhof's anti-consumerist, materially simple lifestyles. Workers are not paid.<ref>Kovel, ''ibid''.</ref> | The Bruderhof factories produce learning aids for students at schools and disability centers. Factory workers come and go whenever they please, and they report to no boss. "Nor is there any hierarchy within the factory," writes the ecosocialist Joel Kovel. Factories have managers, but they "have no particular authority beyond their differentiated task". The factories do not accumulate wealth beyond what is needed to support the Bruderhof's anti-consumerist, materially simple lifestyles. Workers are not paid, and all of the revenues go to the community.<ref>Kovel, ''ibid''.</ref> | ||
Kovel argues that the Bruderhof prove there is no contradiction between industrial technology and ecological living | Kovel argues that the Bruderhof prove there is no contradiction between industrial technology and ecological living. The factories use advanced computers, the communities keep in touch with other over the phone, and they even own a small aircraft fleet. Nonetheless, they consume very little, and "if we could somehow figure | ||
out a way to get all the people of the industrialized nations to | |||
live so lightly on the earth, there would be no crisis of anywhere | |||
near the present scale to worry about."<ref>Kovel, ''ibid''. | |||
the | |||
lightly, | <references/> | ||
</ | |||
Revision as of 08:54, 20 July 2015
The Bruderhof (meaning “community of brethren”) are a network of eight Christian communist communities, each with about 300-400 people, spread out in the United States and England. They live without private property and with very few personal possessions. The Bruderhof communally provide meals, basic education, and health care, and they communally own their cars. When someone needs to pay for something like tuition for medical school, they draw from communal funds. Although the Bruderhof society is hierarchical, their factories are not.[1]
The Bruderhof factories produce learning aids for students at schools and disability centers. Factory workers come and go whenever they please, and they report to no boss. "Nor is there any hierarchy within the factory," writes the ecosocialist Joel Kovel. Factories have managers, but they "have no particular authority beyond their differentiated task". The factories do not accumulate wealth beyond what is needed to support the Bruderhof's anti-consumerist, materially simple lifestyles. Workers are not paid, and all of the revenues go to the community.[2]
Kovel argues that the Bruderhof prove there is no contradiction between industrial technology and ecological living. The factories use advanced computers, the communities keep in touch with other over the phone, and they even own a small aircraft fleet. Nonetheless, they consume very little, and "if we could somehow figure out a way to get all the people of the industrialized nations to live so lightly on the earth, there would be no crisis of anywhere near the present scale to worry about."<ref>Kovel, ibid.
