Posted by Drealm on
URL: https://coalpha.arkian.net/Gloriavale-tp7575208p7575219.html

There has been discussion here before on similar groups like the Hutterites. There's always a few issues with these types of Christian groups.

As an atheist I don't think any of us would fit in here. It's not enough to not enough to follow their rules but not have faith. They will be offended by this.

Another issue with these groups is that they're anti-science. I don't care about most modern technology, but I do care about serious things like medical care. See this snippet here:

How do you handle medical problems?

Our first solution for health issues is to pray. God has healed many of our people in miraculous ways without any need to visit a doctor or hospital. However, that doesn't mean that we ignore the use of these services, which God can use as part of the diagnosis and/or healing process. Whatever we choose to do, we place our faith in God, and not in the ability of science to solve all of our problems.

I would like to read more about them. They have some downloads here but the links are broken. I've emailed them to fix them.

I was looking for other sources on them and I did stumble on this book: Living In Utopia: New Zealand's Intentional Communities. The book has a chapter on them, so I'll put it on my reading list.

Practically speaking, I think the best way to start a community like this would be by starting a business. The business could be started with a loan. The business owner could hire co-alpha oriented employees on a trial basis. During the trial they would be paid standard wages. If they want to remain long term they could rescind their wages and become owners. Owners would be allocated room and board from a general fund instead of being paid individual wages. For the first few years the owners would need to commit to living in poverty until the business was profitable enough to provide a higher standard of living.

The goal would be to shift all trial employees to owners. All trial employees who don't want to become owners would eventually be let go. As the business grows the general fund could cover more ambitious projects like buying land and materials for building houses. But to start with the general fund would probably just cover living together in a cramped studio apartment with basic needs.

My understanding is that the Hutterites are able to stay in business because they sell everything below competitor prices. They can do this because they have free labor.

The first step would be picking a business where you could sell products 50% less than the competition. You need to use the free labor of owners to your advantage.