Sharing wealth: Plum Village, Bruderhof

Lunisolar moment: Full moon. Sun slow (clock ahead of sun).

Note: This is the second post of the new season and new publishing schedule.

Could I be independent of capitalism?

Could I be independent of markets, money, and capitalism for a month? Could you survive for one week without necessities produced by other people?

• If I had to produce my own food, what would I eat?
• If you had to produce your own clothes, what would you wear?
• If we had to produce our own housing, where would we live?

Could we survive even for one day by producing and providing our own necessities? I could not. I depend on the market for all of my necessities.

This is the secret to capitalism. Unless we are subsistence farmers or we live in a commune, capitalism makes us dependent on markets for basic necessities. Depending on markets for our basic necessities makes us dependent on capital. Depending on capital makes us dependent on capitalism. Depending on capitalism makes it very difficult to exit it, very difficult to love god more than money.

Depending on each other

Do we have to produce our own necessities to love god? Not necessarily. But to love god – to devote more time and energy to life and flourishing than we do to money and markets – we need some level of independence from money and markets. This is what wisdom traditions do best: they provide independence from the wealth system du jour. They do this through commonwealth.

So if wisdom communities don’t depend on markets, how do they survive? Members of wisdom communities depend on each other. They interface with markets without selling their souls, and in the process they help those of us caught in capitalism educate ourselves about other ways of living.

What makes them viable and healthy alternatives to capitalism and other wealth-systems are three things they have in common: religion (or philosophy / ideology), commonwealth (my word), and vows.

Shared mind, shared wealth

If we are to depend on something other than markets and capital, we need to subordinate those things to god, or something bigger and more beautiful than our individual selves and worldly cultures of wealth and possessions. Let’s look at two examples: Plum Village, a Buddhist community, and the Bruderhof, a Christian community.

Both Plum Village and the Bruderhof very clearly state that they worship – they hold most worthy in thought, word, deed, AND livelihood – something greater than wealth, and the so-called benefits that come with it, i.e., status (including privilege), pleasures (including lust), and ego (including individualism).

This is where the psychology is so interesting and so pivotal. And it is why capitalism is so successful: private property builds up the ego.

Possession runs both ways with private property: we possess things – cars, homes, businesses, etc. – and things possess us in turn. They become part of our identity: that is my house, my car, my business. In everyday language, when we are leaving a meeting, say, walking out with others into the parking lot, when we see our cars, we say, “That’s me,” or “Is that you?”

Referring to cars (or homes, etc.) with personal pronouns like “me” and “you” is subtle but telling speech, showing how we link our identity to our possessions.

Vows

The vows of the Bruderhof cut off the link to possessions completely and right away with their first vow. Here are all three of their vows:

Poverty: We pledge to give up all property and to live simply, in complete freedom from possessions.

Chastity: We pledge to uphold sexual purity and, if married, to stay faithful in the bond of marriage between one man and one woman for life.

Obedience: We pledge to yield ourselves up in obedience to Christ and our brothers and sisters, promising to serve the church community wherever and however we are asked.

I’m not saying that these are perfect vows for commonwealth community. Nor are they for everyone. However, the first vow is perfect for any group of people who wants to exit dependence on capitalism and enter the collective liberation of commonwealth. It doesn’t get much better than that: simple yet comprehensive, basic yet effective, liberating yet grounded – complete freedom from possessions.

Now take a look at the vows of Plum Village, a Buddhist community, together with some context. Keep in mind that these are vows for monastic members – monks and nuns – and that lay members take different vows.

1. We vow to live a life of chastity, to not ever have any children to carry on our genes and our family name. This choice is not for everyone, but some people do not long to have a family of their own or to be wed to one person. We learn true love where there is deep intimacy and connection, yet no attachment or possessive owning; where there is tender care and lasting friendship, yet no fleeting passions and unchecked fantasies.

2. We vow to live a simple and modest life without too many material comforts and consumption. No alcohol, no drugs, no meat- or dairy-based diet; no cosmetics, jewelry, or worldly amusements; no amassing money or material things. Monastic life is definitely not for everyone, especially those living in a capitalistic culture where the typical routine is work, spend, own, and be entertained. If we each aspired to reduce our consumption of goods, our energy use (food, water, gas, and coal), and our waste production, especially in the more affluent and developed nations, then we could reduce our impact on the ecosystem.

3. We also vow to live in community and share our time and resources and contribute to the welfare of others. Community has to be in the picture of a sustainable way forward for our planet. As the human population grows, the model of individual living, of the nuclear family needs to change. It is no longer sustainable for every person to own a car, a fridge, a stove, and a multi-roomed house, especially with the projected population growth. The dream of what is considered a good life has to evolve.

Very similar, right? Poverty, Chastity, Obedience for the Bruderhof; Chastity, Simplicity, Community for Plum Village. Though they differ in emphasis, feel, and sequence, these sets of vows are interchangeable in essence. Poverty requires simplicity. Obedience implies fidelity to god, and to community. (Note: “obedience” carries negative connotations for many people. The root of “obey” is to listen, which is much better, and implies “community,” Plum Village’s sound alternative to “obedience.”)

These communities, however, do not work for me, admirable as they are. I cannot make these particular vows, though I aspire to embrace their essence and embody their reality with friends and strangers who ultimately become friends as well. I’ll elaborate on the obstacles next time, life willing and space permitting. : )

Conclusion

Commonwealth starts in the mind. If I can get over my ego, or otherwise neutralize its hold over me, I can be open to the richness of commonwealth: shared wealth in community, leaving behind individualism and dependence on capitalism. Next time, let’s look at how these two groups actually survive and flourish, and why they are the exception and not the norm.

Religious occasions: Ashura (Islam), Martyrdom of the Bab (Baháʼí), Fast of Tammuz (Judaism)