Egalitarian communities are groups of people who have chosen to live together, with
egalitarianism
Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all h ...
as one of their core values. A broad definition of egalitarianism is "equal access to resources and to decision-making power." For example, decision-making is done by
consensus or another system in which each person has a voice; it is not done hierarchically with only one or a few people making choices that will affect the whole group. If the group shares assets (income, vehicles, etc.), they are distributed equitably throughout the group, and each member has access to more-or-less the same resources as any other member. Egalitarian communities are a type of
commune (some communal groups are not egalitarian in nature).
An "egalitarian decision" is a decision made by a group as opposed to a single individual. The decision may be made by committee or elected members but still is an egalitarian decision.
The
Federation of Egalitarian Communities
The Federation of Egalitarian Communities (FEC) is a group of egalitarian communitiesO'Brien, EllenSome communes have survived -- and prospered -- beyond the '60s.''Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service.'' 23 Sept. 1996. which have joined together wi ...
is a network of communal groups in North America with values including egalitarianism,
non-violence
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
, income-sharing and
cooperation
Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English) is the process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common, mutual, or some underlying benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit. Many animal a ...
.
See also
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Acorn Community
Acorn is a farm-based, anarchist, egalitarian, intentional community located in rural Louisa County, Virginia, United States. It is a member of the Federation of Egalitarian Communities. Acorn was started in 1993 as a spin-off community of the ...
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Drop City
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East Wind Community
East Wind Community is an intentional community located in the Missouri Ozarks. Founded in 1974, it is a secular and democratic community in which members hold all community assets in common. Each member is also given food, shelter, clothing, medic ...
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Equality Colony
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Kommune Niederkaufungen
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L'Arche
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Twin Oaks Community
External links
Dacha ProjectFederation of Egalitarian CommunitiesIntentional Communities WebsiteDirectory of Communesin th
Communities DirectoryCommunities magazineIntentional Communities WikiTwin Oaks Communities ConferenceConference focused on education about living in Community.
{{Co-operatives , types
Types of communities