Every generation discovers communal living like they invented fire. They read about intentional communities, get starry-eyed about shared resources and collective decision-making, then move in together convinced they'll be different. They never are. Here's what actually happened when people tried to live the dream.
1. Brook Farm, Massachusetts (1841-1847): The Original Hipster Commune
Before there was Burning Man, there was Brook Farm—a transcendentalist community where Boston intellectuals went to prove they could grow vegetables and live simply. Founded by George Ripley, it attracted writers, philosophers, and other people who had never held a hoe.
The dream was beautiful: everyone would work four hours a day doing manual labor, then spend the rest of their time reading Emerson and discussing the nature of existence. What actually happened was that the writers couldn't farm, the farmers couldn't write, and nobody wanted to do laundry.
The community lasted six years, during which they burned through multiple organizational structures, countless philosophical debates about work assignments, and one devastating fire that destroyed their main building. The final blow wasn't external persecution—it was the discovery that several members had been hoarding the good jam.
2. Oneida Community, New York (1848-1881): When Free Love Meets Silverware Manufacturing
John Humphrey Noyes founded Oneida on the radical principles of "complex marriage" (everyone was married to everyone) and "mutual criticism" (everyone publicly analyzed everyone else's flaws). Somehow, this lasted 33 years and produced excellent silverware.
The system worked until the second generation grew up and decided they preferred monogamy and privacy to their parents' sexual commune. The breaking point came when younger members started forming exclusive couples, which violated community principles but felt a lot more emotionally sustainable than sharing your spouse with 200 other people.
The community dissolved when members couldn't agree whether to maintain the free love system or adopt conventional marriage. They kept the silverware business, though. Oneida flatware is still around, outlasting the ideology by 140 years.
3. The Rajneeshpuram, Oregon (1981-1985): When Meditation Meets Municipal Politics
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's followers built a city in the Oregon desert dedicated to spiritual enlightenment, free love, and really expensive cars. For four years, it was a functioning municipality with its own police force, fire department, and deeply dysfunctional leadership structure.
The community imploded not because of external pressure, but because of internal power struggles that escalated to attempted murder, voter fraud, and a bioterror attack on local restaurants. The final straw was when followers discovered their spiritual leaders had been wire-tapping their bedrooms and plotting to assassinate federal prosecutors.
Turns out that even enlightened beings will fight viciously over who controls the bank accounts and who gets to sleep with the guru.
4. The Farm, Tennessee (1971-1983): Hippies Meet Agricultural Reality
Stephen Gaskin led 320 San Francisco hippies to rural Tennessee to create a self-sustaining spiritual community. They built schools, started businesses, and developed innovative farming techniques. For twelve years, it actually worked—until economic reality set in.
The community supported itself through various enterprises: construction crews, a book publishing company, and a midwifery service that delivered over 2,000 babies. The problem wasn't lack of skills or dedication—it was that communal economics don't scale well when you're competing with capitalist businesses.
By 1983, The Farm was $1.2 million in debt. The community restructured as a intentional neighborhood rather than a full commune, and many members moved away. Those who stayed had to start paying rent and utility bills like everyone else.
5. Twin Oaks, Virginia (1967-Present): The Commune That Lived
Twin Oaks is the exception that proves the rule. Founded on B.F. Skinner's behavioral psychology principles, it's one of the few intentional communities that's survived more than 50 years. Their secret? Obsessive organization and radical transparency about human nature.
Photo: Twin Oaks, Virginia, via img.freepik.com
Everything is systematized: work assignments rotate on a strict schedule, decisions are made through a complex committee structure, and interpersonal conflicts are addressed through formal mediation processes. It's like living in a very friendly, very efficient bureaucracy.
The community survives because they've accepted that humans are petty, lazy, and prone to hoarding resources. Instead of pretending these traits don't exist, they've built systems to manage them. Nobody gets to opt out of dish duty, and everyone's work hours are tracked publicly.
6. Synanon, California (1958-1991): From Addiction Recovery to Cult
Charles Dederich started Synanon as a drug rehabilitation program based on communal living and brutal honesty. The "Synanon Game" involved group sessions where members verbally attacked each other's character flaws until breakthrough occurred.
For twenty years, it worked. Thousands of people overcame addiction, built successful careers, and created lasting relationships. The community developed innovative therapeutic techniques and became a model for treatment programs worldwide.
Then Dederich decided that nobody should ever leave Synanon, that members should get vasectomies or hysterectomies to prevent pregnancy, and that the community needed an armed security force. The therapeutic community became a violent cult that stockpiled weapons and attacked critics. It collapsed when Dederich was arrested for conspiracy to commit murder.
7. Kerista, San Francisco (1971-1991): Poly Paradise Meets Personality Conflicts
The Kerista community practiced "polyfidelity"—closed group marriages where everyone was sexually involved with everyone else in their "family." They lived in Victorian houses in San Francisco, ran successful computer businesses, and maintained their complex relationships through scheduled rotations and extensive communication protocols.
For twenty years, it actually worked. Members developed deep emotional bonds, shared financial resources, and created a supportive environment for raising children. The community was financially successful and emotionally stable.
It ended when founder Jud Presmont's personality became increasingly controlling and abusive. Members gradually realized that their utopian lifestyle depended entirely on one person's psychological stability, and that person was becoming less stable each year. When Presmont started demanding that members cut contact with outside friends and family, the community dissolved.
8. Drop City, Colorado (1965-1977): Art Commune Meets Property Taxes
Drop City was an artists' community famous for its geodesic dome architecture and complete rejection of conventional society. Members built experimental structures from car tops and scrap metal, created innovative art installations, and lived without electricity or running water.
The community attracted artists, writers, and creative types from around the world. For several years, it was a genuinely innovative space where people created groundbreaking art and architecture while living on almost no money.
It fell apart when property taxes came due and nobody had any money to pay them. Turns out that rejecting conventional society doesn't exempt you from conventional property law. The county seized the land for unpaid taxes, and the artists scattered to other communes or back to regular jobs.
9. Ananda Cooperative Village, California (1968-Present): Yoga Meets Homeowners Association
Swami Kriyananda founded Ananda as a spiritual community based on yoga, meditation, and simple living. Unlike many intentional communities, Ananda allowed private property ownership within a cooperative framework.
The community has survived for over 50 years by functioning essentially like a very spiritual homeowners association. Members own their houses, pay monthly fees for community services, and participate in group meditation and decision-making.
The key to Ananda's success is that it never tried to eliminate private ownership or individual autonomy. Members share spiritual practices and community resources, but everyone has their own space and their own stuff. Nobody has to share toothbrushes or bank accounts.
10. The Source Family, California (1969-1975): Rock Band Meets Religious Cult
Jim Baker, known as Father Yod, led a communal family of 140 people who lived together in a Hollywood mansion, ran a successful health food restaurant, and recorded psychedelic rock albums. They practiced meditation, vegetarianism, and complete devotion to their charismatic leader.
For six years, the community was financially successful and culturally influential. Their restaurant was popular with celebrities, their music gained a cult following, and their lifestyle attracted young people seeking spiritual meaning.
It ended when Father Yod decided he could fly a hang glider without any training and promptly crashed to his death. Without their leader, the community immediately splintered into factions fighting over money, property, and custody of the children. The restaurant closed, the mansion was sold, and members scattered across the country.
11. Findhorn, Scotland (1962-Present): Spiritual Gardening Meets Scottish Weather
Eileen and Peter Caddy founded Findhorn as a spiritual community focused on cooperating with nature spirits to grow enormous vegetables in sandy Scottish soil. The community became famous for producing 40-pound cabbages and six-foot delphiniums through meditation and organic farming.
Findhorn has survived for 60 years by evolving from a small spiritual community into an educational foundation and eco-village. They offer workshops, conferences, and degree programs in sustainable living and spiritual development.
The secret to their longevity is that they never tried to create a closed community. Findhorn has always welcomed visitors, students, and temporary residents. Instead of trying to maintain a perfect intentional community, they've become a place where people can experiment with alternative living for a few months or years before moving on.
12. The Love Family, Washington (1968-1984): Flower Power Meets Authoritarian Control
Paul Erdmann, who renamed himself Love Israel, created a family of 300 people who shared everything: property, money, and sexual partners. Members gave up their birth names, their outside relationships, and their individual identities to become part of the Love Family.
For sixteen years, the community operated successful businesses, raised children collectively, and maintained a lifestyle of radical sharing and spiritual devotion. They owned multiple properties, ran a construction company, and supported themselves entirely through member labor.
The community collapsed when Love Israel's authoritarianism became increasingly extreme and several members died from drug overdoses that the leadership tried to cover up. Former members filed lawsuits, child protective services intervened, and the IRS investigated the community's finances. By 1984, most members had left and the remaining properties were sold to pay legal bills.
What We Learn From Failure
Every one of these communities started with genuine idealism and good intentions. They attracted intelligent, committed people who really wanted to create something better. Most of them achieved significant success for years or even decades.
They didn't fail because their ideas were wrong or because outside society persecuted them. They failed because human beings are complicated, and creating alternative social structures is really, really hard.
The communities that survived longest either:
- Maintained private property and individual autonomy (Ananda)
- Created extremely detailed systems for managing human behavior (Twin Oaks)
- Evolved into educational institutions rather than closed communities (Findhorn)
The ones that collapsed usually did so because:
- Charismatic leaders became authoritarian or unstable
- Economic pressures overwhelmed idealistic structures
- Members couldn't resolve conflicts over work, money, or relationships
- The community couldn't adapt when external circumstances changed
Most importantly, almost none of them failed because of the big philosophical questions. They failed because of dishes, and laundry, and who ate the last of the good cheese, and whose turn it was to clean the toilet, and whether Dave was really pulling his weight in the garden, and why Sarah always seemed to get out of the worst chores.
Turns out that revolution is easy. Living together is hard.