Power

If we're starting from the beginning, then I suppose I'll start with one of my first inspirations for the whole idea, the relationship between love and power. The structure in which we live is based on capitalism, or in other words, a complex system of power relationships. But within that structure are many relationships that exist primarily outside of or even in conflict with power concerns. For the sake of these relationships individuals will sacrifice and give power away, not because it will generate a return of more power (although it might), but because they love the other. The easiest example of this is the stereotypical model of the nuclear family in the 50s. A single breadwinner participates in the capitalist game, supporting a number of other individuals whom he (gotta stick to the stereotype) loves, namely his wife and 2.4 children. Even in the face of the obvious and painful misogynistic tendencies inherent in such a picture, we see a man who would be fiscally better off without the burden. It's easy to deconstruct this picture from a feminist perspective, showing how the wife is little more than a slave, baking pies and scrubbing the bathroom floor in return for the privelege of the man's financial support. But even with such a cynical viewpoint the children don't make a whole lot of sense given how much braces and puppies and textbooks cost. And really, if fiscal concerns were paramount then it would probably just be easier to hire a regular maid and occasionally a prostitute. Or vice versa. All that seems a bit roundabout to get to the point that love is important and exists external to but fundamentally intertwined with the structure of power in our culture. But in the end, we need and want both love and power. And the commune should be both, much as a healthy nuclear family should be. The idea is that sharing our power with one another makes us stronger as a group than as single individuals.

Man, I have got to work on not ending these posts with horrible platitudes...