Cohousing-L Mailing List: Diversity & like-mindedness

[Hans Tilstra (hans.tilstra]

> Trying to diversify cohousing communities has merit, but the effort fights 
> the natural tendency of like-minded people to cluster and exclude people who 
> do not fit in.

The discussion on xenophobia seems on a wavelength of political social science, 
on how cohousing can be seen as an instrument to change society at large. My 
interpretation is that this intent is more closely aligned with rural, more 
ideological forms of intentional community.

The more psychological focus of like-mindedness reminds me of personal 
identity, with a sense of belonging, pride, approval. To me, the primary intent 
of joining cohousing as compared to other forms of intentional community is 
primarily about practicality & sociability. Like-mindedness (from memory) was 
correlated with voting a more progressive political party, being relatively 
well-educated, a tendency to think ahead.

Hans
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~cohouse