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very few of you have actually live in a commune type situation so let me be the first to tell you that actually, it fucking sucks. it is a full time job. everyone is rude and irritating and no one cleans the fucking kitchen. every large commune of the 60s collapsed the same way
i was in an illegal oakland warehouse art commune a few years ago. "hey man the quiet hours are very clearly stated in the house rules, please use headphones" became a massive mailing list argument. again, i must emphasize this: no one cleaned the kitchen
affordable housing yes. housing in general, yes. commune? especially with all your Friends, people you actually want to continue to enjoy spending time with, in a communal living arrangement? heed my warning
housing is not just a place to sleep, for quality of life you also need to be able to make popcorn at 3am or take a shit for an hour without someone ingratiatingly tapping on the door because they need to take a shower and go to work. you will hate this. it will not "work out"
the less neurotypical or able-bodied you are, the less you are able to function within a commune because the less willing people will be to, for example, tolerate your ADHD ass forgetting to clean the kitchen after you microwave fish at 10pm. no one thinks about this part
are you disabled in a way that it takes you a long time to take a shower? or get on and off the toilet? do you need to take hot showers not just to get clean fast, but also to relax or deal with muscle problems or unclog your sinuses? resentment will build rapidly
communes should not be a housing goal. housing goal should be separate, sound- and weather-insulated spaces with separate facilities. you cannot understand how vital this is to quality of life until you have to live with it
they had an entire class of people (reproductive-aged women) who spent all day every day doing housework, basically a live-in domestic staff. if you have a class of housewives in your commune, it works fine. that's how mormon polygamists do it. https://twitter.com/MalkyDungeon/status/1296225743547097093
the domestic class doesn't work outside the home and pools childrearing duties. if you can form a commune with this type of designated worker class living in it, it'll probably be fairly effective. in a society where everyone works outside the home? absolutely not
this is the story of every single commune, historically, to a greater or lesser degree. the still-extant ones either have a domestic worker class and/or are actually hotels for tourists (like that one that makes bells) https://twitter.com/BenQConnolly/status/1296225709715791874
there are going to be people replying to these tweets with "WELL I LIVED IN ONE AND IT WAS FINE" and i would like to point out that the commune i lived in had lots of people in it who also thought ants and mold and loud music were fine or just weren't aware of them
tbh i would be perfectly happy doing a shitload of housework every day and nothing else. capitalism doesnt allow that without me like, marrying a rich guy or whatever, but i like cleaning and im good at it if i have nothing else to do ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ it's a good system
naturally the "well if everything and everyone wasnt terrible, ie, if the material conditions were completely the opposite of what they currently are, communes would be great" are popping up. yes i know. that is what i am saying
its about the material conditions people
