Commitment and Community: Communes and Utopias in Sociological Perspective

by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

What makes some communes work, while others fail? Why is it so difficult to put utopian ideals into practice? In this exciting study of the success or failure of nineteenth-century American Utopias and twentieth-century communes, Rosabeth Moss Kanter combines the results of her first-hand experiences in a variety of contemporary groups with her thorough research on earlier Utopian communities. Convinced that the Utopias of the past offer important models for social organization today, the author also stresses the need for a historical perspective in viewing contemporary movements. Kanter analyzes the ideas and values expressed and developed in communal living, she explores the methods of organization that led to commitment and success or failure in the nineteenth-century, and she deals with the dilemmas and problems that contemporary communities present. The final chapters of this brilliant study, a discussion of contemporary communes, allows the reader to see the similarities as well as the differences between nineteenth and twentieth-century communities.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Sociology, Research, Utopia, History

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, where she specializes in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. She is also Chair and Director of the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative, an innovation that helps successful leaders at the top of their professions apply their skills to national and global challenges in their next life stage. A collaboration across all of Harvard, the Advanced Leadership Initiative aims to build a new leadership force for the world.

Her latest book, MOVE: Putting America's Infrastructure Back in the Lead, is a sweeping look across industries and technologies shaping the future of mobility and the leadership required for transformation. Her strategic and practical insights guide leaders of large and small organizations worldwide, through her teaching, writing, and direct consultation to major corporations and governments. The former chief Editor of Harvard Business Review, Professor Kanter has been repeatedly named to lists of the “50 most powerful women in the world” (Times of London), and the “50 most influential business thinkers in the world” (Thinkers 50). She has received 24 honorary doctoral degrees, as well as numerous leadership awards, lifetime achievement awards, and prizes. These include the Academy of Management’s Distinguished Career Award for scholarly contributions to management knowledge; the World Teleport Association's “Intelligent Community Visionary of the Year” award; the International Leadership Award from the Association of Leadership Professionals; and the Warren Bennis Award for Leadership Excellence.

She is the author or coauthor of 19 books. Her book The Change Masters was named one of the most influential business books of the 20th century (Financial Times). SuperCorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Innovation, Profits, Growth, and Social Good, a manifesto for leadership of sustainable enterprises, was named one of the ten best business books of 2009 by Amazon.com. A related article, "How Great Companies Think Differently," received Harvard Business Review's 2011 McKinsey Award for the year's two best articles. Confidence: How Winning Streaks & Losing Streaks Begin & End (a New York Times business bestseller and #1 Business Week bestseller), describes the culture of high-performance organizations compared with those in decline and shows how to lead turnarounds, whether in businesses, schools, sports teams, or countries. Men & Women of the Corporation, winner of the C. Wright Mills award for the best book on social issues and called a classic, offers insight into the individual and organizational factors that promote success or perpetuate disadvantage; a spin-off video, A Tale of ‘O’: On Being Different, is a widely-used tool for diversity training. A related book, Work & Family in the United States, set a policy agenda; later, a coalition of university centers created in her honor the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for the best research on work/family issues. Another award-winning book, When Giants Learn to Dance, showed how to master the new terms of competition at the dawn of the global information age. World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy identified the rise of new business networks and dilemmas of globalization, a theme she continues to pursue in her new book MOVE and the Harvard Business School U.S. Competitiveness Project.

Through her consulting arm, Goodmeasure Inc., she advises numerous CEOs and has partnered with IBM on applying her leadership tools from business to other sectors as a Senior Advisor for IBM’s Global Citizenship portfolio. She has served on many business and non-profit boards, such as City Year, the urban “Peace Corps” addressing the school dropout crisis through national service, and on a variety of national or regional commissions including the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors. She speaks widely, often sharing the platform with Presidents, Pr

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a study of various intentional communities, both religious and secular, mostly in the US. I enjoyed it simply for its descriptions and comparisons of the workings of these micro-societies. But its real relevance is that it illuminates the more universal forces that often bring us to commit to social values over our individual desires and needs.