Page 23 - C.A.L.L. #28 - Spring 2007

Is it possible to survive, or is the kibbutz movement doomed?
"From an historical point of view, the kibbutz has a great future. I don't know if it will be in Israel.
Maybe not. Of course I'm not talking about a kibbutz with cows, chickens and people dancing the
hora, but the idea that people relinquish their natural right to compete with each other
economically in order to get a little social and economic security and to get a small component of
the extended family, will be on the agenda sooner or later. We are still within the huge tsunami in
which the Titanic called the Soviet Union drowned. Everybody who was close-by got dragged down
into the whirlpool. Including the Kibbutz Movement. I have no doubt that the thought that
socialism is diametrically opposed to human nature, and that human nature means each man for
himself, and compete or die, will exhaust itself. All around me I see people who work beyond their
limits in order to make more money than they need, in order to buy things that they don't need, in
order to make an impression on people they don't care about. There will be people who will wake
up and say, "What am I doing? It is against my better nature, I cannot live like this, I want
something else. When they look for something else, and will be prepared to relinquish some of
their rights to devour each other and to trample on one and other, the core of the kibbutz idea will
be there on the shelf. I don't know when it will pop up, I don't know where it will pop up, but it
will pop up."
Translated by Dina Bookman

Dear Sol , action. One such group is 'Via Campesina', the
agricultural branch of the anti-globalization
Our community has existed now for more movement, or other groups who stand for an
than eleven years. We are situated in the alternative way, an anti-capitalistic way of
region of Apulia in South Italy - one of the handling agriculture, anti-racism groups,
poorest regions of Italy. We consider groups who try to develop a relationship
ourselves to be an agricultural community. through solidarity with people in other parts
That means that not only is our economy of the world .
based on agriculture, but that we orientate
ourselves to the philosophy of subsistence. In The only community network within which
this way agriculture is in a certain way in the we participate is the network of 'Kommuja',
centre of our life; it determines our way of which you are familiar with. In Italy there is
living, our relationship between nature and only an eco-village network, of which we
man, our form of political action: in contrast don't take part. In the past we have felt that
to industrial agriculture, multi-national many of the members are far from our aims
business, the destruction of energy resources and way of living. Actually, they have
and their privatization... changed some things, but we don't know
exactly in what way.
It may sound a little old-fashioned, but we
consider ourselves to be a libertarian We aren't a community of writers, so there
community, which strives to avoid any type are not many documents about us. The
of hierarchy, trying to establish equal documents which do exist you can find in the
responsibilities; we make our decisions in a editions of 'Kommuja' over the last ten years.
collective way (consensus); equality in both We have nothing in English.
the economic and social spheres. From the
beginning, we established our community as If you have a chance to visit Italy, you are
an open community. This means that, in welcome to visit us. Since we are sometimes
addition to the members of Urupia, there are overcrowded, you must contact us in
always other people living with us for some advance.
time whose life aims are similar to ours and
who want to experiment this way of life. We Best wishes to you ,
have built up a network of like-minded
people in our region who want to change Rolf Lindemann
society in similar directions. We have Urupia Commune
fostered relationships with hundreds of backe@libero.it
groups, mainly in Italy and Germany; groups
and individuals with whom we are united by
aims, philosophy, way of living and political

2
2323
233