Mennonites, Amish etc. are 'intentional' and have in reality fairly 'anti capitalist' ideals (though not framed in those terms). I know it's not the authors in

Mennonites, Amish etc. are 'intentional' and have in reality fairly 'anti capitalist' ideals (though not framed in those terms). I know it's not the authors intent - but they are similar and should be a basis of comparison to grasping why some work and some don't. These traditional communities are highly authoritarian (as some hippie communities often are), but they're maybe 'culturally authoritative' instead of individualistically. By that I mean - social or religious orthodoxy 'sets the rules' as opposed to 'some guys word' or a 'loosely agreed upon set of rules with little foundation'. At least in the former, there's a degree of objectivity, however good or bad you may judge those rules to be. In short - very strongly traditional/culturally conservative mindset helps to define a set of behaviours and attitudes that people stick with, and as long as they do, it keeps going. We have many near my hometown, very pleasant people. I'm sometimes jealous and wish I could chill with them for a few months.