Communal Space

The idea of the commune is fundamentally to increase the level of personal choice available to each member, and that means both separation from and integration with the structure of society (read capitalism). Traditionally communes have been expressions of dissatisfaction with society and have therefore served primarily to provide a space separate from that society. But this choice is too concrete, too diametric, too choice-limiting. Commune 2.0 (working title) should serve as a point of interaction with capitalism and the rest of society that provides the means to interact more successfully in a capitalist environment or to withdraw from it. Or at least that's my syndicalist reading of it.

Much of what makes the commune valuable involves shared resources, and this seems wed to a shared space or spaces, the physical commune. Positing a shared space is not difficult, but in practical terms a shared space with the size and flexibility to support a group of people whose lifestyle will not necessarily correspond to architectural norms for families or other "normal" groupings becomes hard to achieve in the beginning stages. In the earliest stages of the commune it seems likely that a single, large house might do the trick, but as families are established and grow, continued flexibility will become problematic given zoning laws for expansions and the like. Furthermore, questions of legal ownership arise. It seems unwise to have a single person as the owner of the physical property of the commune, but any option that involves the commune as a whole owning the property requires the commune to exist as a legal entity, and I'm not sure what form that would take or even what options are available: incorporation? non-profit? church? Assuming multiple communes then this question would certainly have different answers based on differing visions and needs, but in the first instance (please excuse the arrogance of the word "first"), the question of space is perhaps the first one that must be addressed.

Problems - Location, capital, flexibility