Page 14 - C.A.L.L. #37 - Winter 2013/2014

And on to Bill Metcalf’s article – an overview of the history of communes in Australia and
New Zealand, followed by what he claims to be the four contemporary motivations for

living in community: Environmental, economic, social and spiritual. Great stuff!

Hidden in the middle of the book, we have Menachem Topel's contribution. He manages

to namedrop pretty much all the contributors to this book, referencing their articles
from elsewhere in this publication (a cheeky bonus of being a co-editor). He mentions
Goldman, Etzioni, Miller, Meltzer, Katz & Lehr, Metcalf, Ben-Rafael, Szell, Sargent and
Oved, just to prove that he has actually read the articles that they submitted.

Here is a graphic showing to what extent the scholars’ reference each other in this book. It could be
interpreted in many ways – a closed-shop, sycophancy or the nature of there being only a very small
fraternity of communal scholars.

The content of his article is actually pretty fascinating. He describes the phenomenon of
a development of communality based on traditional sources. Basically the "adoption of
communal norms and organizational structures that promote solidarity". His examples
highlight deprived neighbourhoods in South America, a far cry from the typical western

middle-class commune dwellers.

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