A lot of the things we do on a daily or weekly basis have ways of doing them that can either be private or communal, some of these which we do not think to consider as having that characteristic.
For example, bathing in the Roman Empire used to be communal, but then Rome fell and citizens in the splinter countries began taking baths privately.
Receiving mail is another example. There are countries which don’t have mailboxes and everyone gets their mail at the post office in the PO boxes. It was the United States which pioneered the idea of the modern mail system, which is why we associate it as a private act.
There are activities as well which don’t have any history as jumping between one or the other that might benefit from it, for example I think towns might benefit if internet was free and freely accessible but only at the local library.
What’s a non-communal aspect of life you think should be communal?
In the US, nudity. People get really weird and obsessive of bodies when nudity isn’t exercised at places like beaches, changing areas, etc.
It’s not healthy to only see bodies as sexual because they are always covered up in public and then 100% sexual either in the bedroom or in porn. There has to be a gradient. Everything in moderation.
I feel like people are also a lot more insecure about their bodies because the only other naked bodies they ever really see are the perfect bodies in movies and porn. Nudity wasn’t a big deal in my family growing up and I think I owe a lot of my positive body image to that. I don’t really have any insecurities, even after being pregnant twice.
I agree. Most people kinda look similar. And you kinda tune it all out anyways once it becomes mundane.
Child-rearing! Child-rearing! Child-rearing! I hate the nuclear family model!!
A couple of ideas:
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Home Ownership. I know condos exist, but it seems to me that we need a solution for home ownership that is accessible and ecologically viable. Traditional houses (and even duplex’s/townhomes) are massively inefficient from a climate perspective, not to mention the space requirements and cost.
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Child rearing. In college, I learned that children were typically raised by multiple neighbors, in order to lessen the strain on parents. I think it is unrealistic and unhealthy to expect people to nearly kill themselves attempting to raise a child for the first couple of years.
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Recreation space. I realize this is mostly an American thing, but lawns are a colossal waste of space. To be of any use at all, they have to be at least half an acre, and realistically, there’s no reason every single family needs their own outdoor recreation space. Plus, a tiny minority of people even use them these days.
I know condos exist,
What’s your objection to condos in this case?
I live in an apartment co-op which in many ways is excellent. Highly efficient in both energy, economy and effort required from me. I’m not sure that I’ll ever want to live in a house, this is probably the ideal state for me.
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