Joseph Blasidocuments and describes the workings of an existing kibbutz society to provide a model for Utopian thinking and clear up confusion concerning Utopian values. He details the history and development of Kibbutz Vatik (a pseudonym), providing a systematic record of kibbutz culture: daily life and social arrangements, economic cooperation and work, politics, education, and attitudes of community members.Despite its advantages as a model Utopia, the kibbutz is not a perfect society. Having eliminated the most serious forms of social, economic, political, and educational fragmentation and violence, the communal group is left with the complicated and mounting problems of keeping a fellowship alive and well. Blasi assesses the community's advantages and disadvantages, illuminating the interlocking dilemmas that cut across social and political concerns.The Communal Experience of the Kibbutz updates our knowledge of kibbutz life in light of recent research. It gives a detailed account of the Utopian community in the kibbutz and its activities. The special quality of the kibbutz, Blasi argues, lies not so much in its proven success vis-a-vis other communal societies, but in that it is a communal alternative that most Western peoples can readily visualize as a real option.

In reaction to the spread of globalization, the number of collective communities has grown apace. In this collection of articles and lectures the author, a leading authority on the history of the kibbutz, analyzes various aspects of the philosophy of the kibbutz, and draws parallels with other societies and trends.

How the kibbutz movement thrived despite its inherent economic contradictions and why it eventually declined The kibbutz is a social experiment in collective living that challenges traditional economic theory. By sharing all income and resources equally among its members, the kibbutz system created strong incentives to free ride or—as in the case of the most educated and skilled—to depart for the city. Yet for much of the twentieth century kibbutzim thrived, and kibbutz life was perceived as idyllic both by members and the outside world. In The Mystery of the Kibbutz, Ran Abramitzky blends economic perspectives with personal insights to examine how kibbutzim successfully maintained equal sharing for so long despite their inherent incentive problems. Weaving the story of his own family’s experiences as kibbutz members with extensive economic and historical data, Abramitzky sheds light on the idealism and historic circumstances that helped kibbutzim overcome their economic contradictions. He illuminates how the design of kibbutzim met the challenges of thriving as enclaves in a capitalist world and evaluates kibbutzim’s success at sustaining economic equality. By drawing on extensive historical data and the stories of his pioneering grandmother who founded a kibbutz, his uncle who remained in a kibbutz his entire adult life, and his mother who was raised in and left the kibbutz, Abramitzky brings to life the rise and fall of the kibbutz movement. The lessons that The Mystery of the Kibbutz draws from this unique social experiment extend far beyond the kibbutz gates, serving as a guide to societies that strive to foster economic and social equality.

An informative memoir of kibbutz life that reveal a piece of Israel's early story that should not be forgotten.

Focusing on the human story, journalist Daniel Gavron movingly portrays the fears, regrets and hopes of members of kibbutzim ranging from traditional to modern and agricultural to urban.

This remarkable compendium brings together more than eighty scholars from throughout the world to examine the experience of the kibbutz and communal living. Through careful examination of the ideological, historical, educational, sociological, and economic origins and realities of communal living, the contributors provide strong and positive support for the belief that a cooperative society can exist within an antagonistic, competitive system. Taken together, these contributions provide dialogue among and between those who research communal life, and those who live it.