Communal Living now and in the aftermath

[MaryN]

A little while ago BP mentioned a site called Diggers and Dreamers. I popped in to have a look at it out of mild interest. It was a little New Agey (peace man!), but interesting, and I spent a bit of time reading through the postings.

What did surprise me was the number of postings from quite young people who were interested in communal living or just trying to find a new way of relating to things. At a time when you could have expected them to be awash with iPhones, iPads and whathaveyou, they were asking about crafts, horticulture, permaculture and all sorts of related subjects. Could it be that people really are beginning to grow tired of the mass materialism and want a simpler way of life; perhaps something with more meaning? Could this possibly be a way of avoiding the looming disasters of modern life? I really don't know, but I did wonder, have any of the younger members of this Forum (or anyone really), thought about the potential benefits of living communally? I could see the benefits of a strong, supportive community, particularly for the more vulnerable members, and this would probably hold firm after an disaster scenario. I realise that for some people communal living would not be a desirable option (I strongly suspect BP has Viking ancestry and would prefer to be the strong silent type), but would having the community in place before the event, so that the organisation would already be there, be preferable?

I don't know. I'm not sure it would be for me; I'm far too bloody-minded and not great at taking orders, but for others??