Cooperation, Commitment, and Sharing: a Qualitative Analysis of a Secular Intentional Community

This qualitative study examines the social practices and behaviors of members of Twin Oaks Community, attempts to discern the factors that have led to its success, and analyzes these factors to form a bridge between their largely nonreligious belief system and practices of religious intentional communities. Through participant observation and a series of in-depth interviews, it can be concluded that Twin Oaks is successful in large part because of its shared value system, mandatory labor process, and collective rejection of mainstream society, particularly modern capitalism