Die Neue Zeit
9th October 2011, 07:12
"As long as the economic family (contracts and generally male-determined division of labour in the home) goes the way of the dinosaur, I don't care what social fancies concerning "families" arise, as long as they aren't the product of "bourgeois feminism" like that of some posters on this board," I wrote on this board awhile back.
Comrade Paul Cockshott also wrote awhile back that "Domestic production would shrink in two ways: 1. the provision of increasing number of child care facilities and restaurants 2. the experimental introduction of communal forms of living after the style of Phalanstère or Kibbutzim."
In Chapter 12 of his TNS book, Cockshott wrote that "the main function of communes is to replace the family," highlighted problems with having illusions in internal self-sufficiency for urban communes (as opposed to something like the larger Chinese communes), and stressed a collectively voluntary approach towards tackling domestic production / household economy:
Communal housing in the USSR was associated with overcrowding and inadequate facilities; the communal flats were comparatively small and not purpose-built. For communal housing to be an attractive proposition, it must offer individuals as much private space as they can obtain under familial housing, along with access to more collective space than they could obtain in the latter. We would assume that each adult member of a commune should have at least one room for his or her own exclusive use. It would probably be desirable to extend this principle to all post-pubertal members of the commune.
[...]
We assume that the members of the commune will be commensals, that is to say that they will eat together at least part of the time. This implies the existence of communal kitchens and a refectory, the ownership or at least disposition over large-scale cooking equipment, and an allocation of labour to the task of food preparation.
[...]
The size of communes should chosen to be large enough to support at least a kindergarten and perhaps a primary school.
[...]
We envisage that communes would have the wealth to provide certain sporting and leisure facilities that are currently available only to the upper classes.
[...]
If cleaning and laundry services were also provided communally then senior members would benefit from this without the stigma and isolation associated with entering a separate old folks’ home.
[...]
Consider the problem of going to the toilet. If you are in a typical British house there will be only one toilet, which is usually in the bathroom. If another member of the household is having a bath it can prove frustrating. If on the other hand 50 people lived in a large house with 20 toilets, the chances of them all being full would be minimal. Indeed, it should be possible to reduce the number of toilets per head and still ensure that there is always one free. The space and resources saved on toilets can then be made available for other activities.
Contrast that last part with the old Khrushchyovki and lots of low-cost social housing today (I got info on the latter from local news articles): one or two bathrooms at most on every floor.
On a related note, could this phenomenon be a step towards the above?
Over 30, And Still Looking For Roommates (http://columbianewsservice.com/2011/03/over-30-and-living-with-strangers-again/)
Cina is one of a growing group of Americans in their 30s who are turning to roommates to help cover their living expenses in a poor economy. From 2009 to 2010 the number of thirtysomethings living with nonfamily roommates spiked from 10.6 million to 12 million, an increase of 13 percent, according to data collected by the Census Bureau and the Department of Labor.
Experts say that several factors are behind the increase, including high unemployment brought on by the Great Recession of 2008, stagnant wages for many workers, and escalating housing prices. The net effect is that in 2010 2.6 million more Americans were living with roommates than were in 2006, according to Census Bureau data. And a majority of that growth occurred in the over-30 set.
“It used to be only college kids did it, but people are increasingly finding that the only way to live is with roommates,” said Dr. Frances Goldscheider, an expert on housing arrangements and a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. “I don’t think that it means that we’re getting along any better, or that we like each other any more,” she added. “It’s a response to the current squeeze.”
The Roommate Revolution: Why Living Alone is Overrated (http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/the-roommate-revolution-why-living-alone-is-overrated)
Annamarie Pluhar, author of Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates writes that sharing housing is a growing trend amongst people beyond college age. She says that some of the reasons for sharing housing are additional income, social connection, extra hands, and living light on the earth. “The myth of a self-reliant, independent person is a pervasive America story,” writes Pluhar. In a recent interview with the Boston Phoenix, Pluhar claimed that the American consciousness is shifting when it comes to ownership and “recognizing that if we do something together it works out better.”
Comrade Paul Cockshott also wrote awhile back that "Domestic production would shrink in two ways: 1. the provision of increasing number of child care facilities and restaurants 2. the experimental introduction of communal forms of living after the style of Phalanstère or Kibbutzim."
In Chapter 12 of his TNS book, Cockshott wrote that "the main function of communes is to replace the family," highlighted problems with having illusions in internal self-sufficiency for urban communes (as opposed to something like the larger Chinese communes), and stressed a collectively voluntary approach towards tackling domestic production / household economy:
Communal housing in the USSR was associated with overcrowding and inadequate facilities; the communal flats were comparatively small and not purpose-built. For communal housing to be an attractive proposition, it must offer individuals as much private space as they can obtain under familial housing, along with access to more collective space than they could obtain in the latter. We would assume that each adult member of a commune should have at least one room for his or her own exclusive use. It would probably be desirable to extend this principle to all post-pubertal members of the commune.
[...]
We assume that the members of the commune will be commensals, that is to say that they will eat together at least part of the time. This implies the existence of communal kitchens and a refectory, the ownership or at least disposition over large-scale cooking equipment, and an allocation of labour to the task of food preparation.
[...]
The size of communes should chosen to be large enough to support at least a kindergarten and perhaps a primary school.
[...]
We envisage that communes would have the wealth to provide certain sporting and leisure facilities that are currently available only to the upper classes.
[...]
If cleaning and laundry services were also provided communally then senior members would benefit from this without the stigma and isolation associated with entering a separate old folks’ home.
[...]
Consider the problem of going to the toilet. If you are in a typical British house there will be only one toilet, which is usually in the bathroom. If another member of the household is having a bath it can prove frustrating. If on the other hand 50 people lived in a large house with 20 toilets, the chances of them all being full would be minimal. Indeed, it should be possible to reduce the number of toilets per head and still ensure that there is always one free. The space and resources saved on toilets can then be made available for other activities.
Contrast that last part with the old Khrushchyovki and lots of low-cost social housing today (I got info on the latter from local news articles): one or two bathrooms at most on every floor.
On a related note, could this phenomenon be a step towards the above?
Over 30, And Still Looking For Roommates (http://columbianewsservice.com/2011/03/over-30-and-living-with-strangers-again/)
Cina is one of a growing group of Americans in their 30s who are turning to roommates to help cover their living expenses in a poor economy. From 2009 to 2010 the number of thirtysomethings living with nonfamily roommates spiked from 10.6 million to 12 million, an increase of 13 percent, according to data collected by the Census Bureau and the Department of Labor.
Experts say that several factors are behind the increase, including high unemployment brought on by the Great Recession of 2008, stagnant wages for many workers, and escalating housing prices. The net effect is that in 2010 2.6 million more Americans were living with roommates than were in 2006, according to Census Bureau data. And a majority of that growth occurred in the over-30 set.
“It used to be only college kids did it, but people are increasingly finding that the only way to live is with roommates,” said Dr. Frances Goldscheider, an expert on housing arrangements and a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. “I don’t think that it means that we’re getting along any better, or that we like each other any more,” she added. “It’s a response to the current squeeze.”
The Roommate Revolution: Why Living Alone is Overrated (http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/the-roommate-revolution-why-living-alone-is-overrated)
Annamarie Pluhar, author of Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates writes that sharing housing is a growing trend amongst people beyond college age. She says that some of the reasons for sharing housing are additional income, social connection, extra hands, and living light on the earth. “The myth of a self-reliant, independent person is a pervasive America story,” writes Pluhar. In a recent interview with the Boston Phoenix, Pluhar claimed that the American consciousness is shifting when it comes to ownership and “recognizing that if we do something together it works out better.”