On my journeys, the closest I have seen to an ideal community was the kibbutz that I stayed on in Israel. (Socialism is a social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources. According to the socialist view, individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in cooperation with one another)

On the Kibbutz that I had visited, each family had their own home, there was a communal dining hall, communal work and programs for the youth. There was a genuine upbeat and happy energy that I felt while there even though I wasn't there for too long.
Amos Oz, one of Israel's most renowned writers, had moved to a kibbutz when he was fifteen years old and lived there for thirty years.
Perhaps the closest I had come to that feeling was when I worked for a small company called Project Canoe who took inner city youth on ten day wilderness canoe trips. Each staff had their own role to play when preparing for trips and staff teams were formed to guide each trip. Ideally we work in teams on projects/enterprises that everyone feels deeply committed to, ventures that truly impact the world for the better. Ideally, those working in such situations, like on the kibbutz, would also live in the same area where they work.
My sense is that true community forms when a group of people work together on a common project.
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