Considering the Amish “Communitarians”

Anyone who knows me knows I am fascinated by the Amish. Not their religion, particularly, although the authoritarian form of their religion may be a necessity for the success of their economic system, which is what really interests me. They have a system of private ownership of property, in which one's hard work will result in a benefit for your own prosperity and to pass on to future generations. But they also work in a cooperative fashion in order to gain the benefits of scale, yet eliminating the siphoning off of their labor in payroll and income taxes. They pay their taxes on the profits of their labor, but in addition to foregoing income and the resultant tax by helping their neighbor they forego (after fighting for the right to the Supreme Court on religious grounds) the government social welfare system and neither pay into nor receive social security and medicare taxes/benefits. I have read studies on this "share labor system" of the Amish and it is considered their primary economic benefit over the "English" way, as we are known to the "Simple Folk".

In addition to these advantages, there is considerable peer pressure to trade within the Amish community and to always produce a surplus, individually and as a community, both by their hard work, but in their frugal, sustainable, self-reliant ways. They cooperate voluntarily to solve issues seemingly insolvable in 'English' society, such as medical care costs. Pretty much all the Amish wish for is to be left alone. Which makes me a fellow traveler with the Amish.

I wonder if their principles are transferable to rural 'English' communities which are, as my friend Greg Maize recently described it, "living amidst the ruins of a dead civilization", which is an apt description. But I wonder if that is a necessary situation and I look to the Amish as inspiration. If a community, such as any small town in this part of Missouri, or any of an untold number of similar communities around the country, were to form a cooperative – a corporation of some sort, in which to create a market for their own goods and services. They have the cash flow, in the form of the government payments that are now the lifeblood of economic activity in our rural communities, which is a sad state of affairs. So, if the building of wealth is a matter of producing more than one (or a community) consumes, then obviously a poor community has a production problem, as they are likely not consuming that much in the first place. Poverty seems to have a way of limiting over-consumption, funnily enough.

Your issue then is likely a lack of capital and a lack of a large enough market within your community, which makes either bringing money into the community or exporting from the community to the larger market a necessity. I don't think these are insurmountable issues, but the solution will be a bit different for each community, given that communities particular assets. For instance, the community I live in might focus on producing natural, organic food for export to communities in St Louis which focus on processing and shipping our products to the larger market of grocery chains. Both communities have the tools for the job, the market exists and I see no reason a community could not exploit their natural advantages in a way to be communities which produce more than we consume, meaning thriving communities building wealth rather than communities living on the fragile life support system of printing counterfeit currencies living amidst the ruins of a failed civilization.

This is the conversation I wish to have as my part of the 'national conversation' and what I wish to discuss here on this blog and in a forthcoming website which is under development. I think that my community has the tools to lead the way out of the national morass allowing the nation's "elites" to drive the ship has brought us to. I think a philosophy of 'Communitarianism' can unite a divided country and build a sustainable economic system. I also don't think it will be embraced by (and possibly not tolerated by) the status quo, but I do think that if people will work together at the grassroots, community level, we can slowly change the national landscape. And by thinking "my community can lead the way", that does not mean I believe my community is unique in that quality. I believe that any community that could follow very simple principles of consumption and production can eventually find a new way that will insulate it from the failure of the greater system, but can evolve into a new system of interconnected, thriving communities which define a thriving nation. I don't have all the answers for a nation, but I believe I can work in my community to make it a better place and if that is happening around the nation – we'll pull through this situation the "elites" have put us in.