Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Work or Pay Systems

[John Faust (wjfaust]

> My concept of cohousing was that people would only move into cohousing
> if they were  intending to "stay forever." I believed that the
> intention really was to build an old-fashioned neighborhood where
> people belong and wouldn't consider it to be temporary. Obviously
> things change and people have to move or find out it wasn't a good
> fit, but I expected a serious intention. One that was strong enough
> that we would all do the work required to learn to accept each other
> as we are and not keep trying to change or overrule each other. To
> understand how to build a life together that worked for everyone, or
> for as many as possible.
>
> That this isn't true means I am also beginning to have doubts about
> the process of building consensus with a changing group of people.
> What is insidious about this is now realizing that some people may
> have already become "temporary" in their own minds. They are making
> "temporary" decisions while I am still trying to make decisions that
> build a foundation for the future.


 Very welcome comments. I think one of the fundamental problems we contend
with is that we have forgotten how to do community. Our current culture is
strongly oriented towards the individual or the family at most and makes
community formation and maintenance very difficult. It will probably take
some time to recover why we need community and how to do it.

Brian is right. Cooperation tends to emerge in situations where individuals
interact over extended periods of time. You can find a short synopsis
here<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Evolution_of_Cooperation>.
By the way, the optimal strategy for ensuring cooperation is tit-for-tat,
not turning the other cheek. Maybe that should be formalized as part of the
the consensus process. :^)

John Faust