Utopian community - Essay Example

Utopian Communities came into existence mainly in the early 19th Century. Most of the utopian communities were the outcome of the disruption caused in the society because of the development in commercialism and capitalism. Also, those people who did not believe in the old Christian values and those who were not in favor of the tyrannical rule of the Kings or the ruling government at those times, decided to come together and form a Utopian Community, wherein they got the opportunity to live a peaceful life, at their own will. The main idea behind forming these communities was to form an ideal and perfect society, which would act as a role model for the world. These utopians were condemned as heretics and were looked down upon by the other members of society. Yet these people were not discouraged and strove hard to run it. These communities disintegrated after few years as their lifestyle was strongly opposed by the other members of society. One such example is of Brook Farm, a utopian community, which was formed by a group of transcendentalists who were great scholars and personalities of high demeanor. They too wanted to set an example of a perfect society by experimenting to form a community. Although, the Brook farmers did not leave their traces behind, we learn about their lives at Brook Farm, from the memoirs written by the members of Brook Farm. The members like Margaret Fuller, Elizabeth Peabody, Mr. Dwight, Mr. Emerson and Mr. John Van had written biographies or articles in journals that became the primary sources of knowledge about Brook Farm. It is because of these great literary people or scholars that we readers have got the benefit of knowing about the Utopian Community. The articles written by these members gives detailed accounts of how the community was formed, what were the reasons that prompted the head of the community to take such an extreme step of separating from the society and forming a different world. According to these sources, Brook Farm was founded by George Ripley, a transcendentalist from Boston. The community was formed as a joint stock company. In the book written by Rose, Anne titled 'Transcendentalism as a Social Movement,' we find a detailed account of the social reform movement initiated by the transcendentalists and also about how the Brook Farm Community was formed. Before the community was formed George Ripley was a Minister of 'The Purchase Street' in Boston. He was against the views of Andrew Norton, a biblical scholar, of separating the pastor of the church from the sympathies of the people and confining him to a sphere of thought far off from his interests and reducing his services to being a mere educationist (Gordon). Norton too was against the idea of Ripley forming a new Church of his own. He considered this act of Ripley as injurious to the religious belief of the people. But Emerson supported Ripley's decision of forming a new church because he thought that Ripley's church would be "something more than mere Sunday gathering place" (Gordon). He decided to resign from the ministry. In his letter to the Congregational Church in Purchase Street, George Ripley clarifies his aim of breaking free from the hypocritical American Society, which has lot of vices like discriminations and inequalities, false pride, lack of concern for common man, unhealthy competition, lack of desire for the redemption of the masses and tendency of fulfilling selfish motives in the name of God. Thus Brook Farm was established by a group of seventeen members including George Ripley and his wife Sophia Ripley. In his letter to Emerson, he has stated his goal of establishing Brook Farm. In this letter he has very clearly stated that the transcendentalists in this community had dreamt of living a life, which would be devoid of prejudices, and there would be no discrimination as such. All the members, no matter to which fraternity they belonged to, be it writer or poet had to labor in the field. They will get the much-desired mental freedom and will be given an opportunity to fully utilize their talent and work of their interests. They will be provided labor, which will get them the fruits of the industry, avenues of good education will be opened to them and there will be no pressures of competition. This is how Ripley had imagined of projecting their community as an ideal for the other people in America. In her article, The Dial, dated 1st January 1842, titled 'Plan of the West Roxbury Community'; Elizabeth Palmer Peabody gives a detailed account of how the members at Brook Farm came together and planned to run their community. She says that a group of like-minded people, who shared the same objective, was brought together and a community was formed. Their purpose was to come out of the competitive world where no ordinary rules of trade were applicable and where they could own their private property or at least get the means of owning them. They had bought a farm where agriculture was made the basis of life so that they could have direct connection with nature. Every member was expected to work in the farm for few hours in a day, and he was paid at a fixed rate per hour. Besides farming they could involve themselves in all sorts of trading or businesses, which would help them to earn a living for themselves and living a comfortable life. They were not expected to merely toil in the farm but they were also expected to involve themselves in the other creativities, which would further help them to hone their skills. The agricultural activities were not only meant for generating revenue but it was also meant for mental, physical and spiritual well-being. The children too received good education at the farm. They were educated free of cost till their age of ten and they were all also taken care of incase their parents were ill or dead. Also, there was a provision of giving financial aid to those people who were short of financial aid after seventy years of age. The members made sufficient money by selling vegetables, milk and pastures which were used for grazing animals for flourishing business of dairy farming. These extracts from the above mentioned article proves how the members planned to run their community by giving labor to the members, which was agriculture, based. The Brook Farm was founded on the principles of Charles Fourier, who was also a transcendentalist from France. He believed in making small communities or 'Phalanx'. The main purpose behind the same was to have a blissful life. Brook Farm too was based on the same principle. The members of Brook Farm desired to build an economy, which would give them financial stability. They were also interested in all sorts of amusements like dance, music, playing cards, plays, reading, picnics etc. By the adaptation of Fourier's views it made them achieve their goals easily. George Ripley had thought of putting an end to the discrimination between the educated and the illiterates or the labor class. All the members were expected to work in the farm and be self-sufficient. The work was divided according to their skills and capacities. Because of such a division of work men and women got sufficient time for self-improvement and they could also spend time with their children. The membership at the farm depended on the ownership of property. The members who invested $500 had the right to vote in the community. Those who did not perform as per the expected standards were isolated or neglected and ultimately they were forced to leave the community. Later it was decided that a person would work for ten hours in a day in summer and for eight hours in winter. Thus they were expected to work for three hundred days in one year. As far as the lifestyle of people at Brook Farm is concerned, all the members of the community woke up early in the morning at around 6:00 am and set out to work in the farms. They worked there for eight to ten hours depending on the seasons. Then after having dinner, they got involved in leisurely activities like dance, music, plays etc. The people liked reading and hence reading clubs were established, that became very famous at Brook Farm. People liked watching plays of Shakespeare. Few members also attended the "Anti-slavery gatherings in Boston and Dedham. But the most remarkable tradition at the farm was that of "Universal Unity". All the members of the community came together and joined hands in a circle in the name of God and Humanity. The dream of an ideal community of George Ripley lasted for only six years. Brook Farm, which was a place of joyous life for all the members, met a tragic end. The main reasons for its disaster were spread of the smallpox disease and the burning of three main buildings at the farm. The burning of Phalanstery rendered the farm bankrupt, thereby forcing the people to leave that place. As it is said, that the members left no traces of Brook Farm behind, but they remained in the memories of the members of Brook Farm who enjoyed their stay there and who cherished fond memories of the same for their life time. Thus we observe that an ambitious enterprise, which was started against the social norms, was destroyed thereby wiping out Utopian societies. Sources Gordon, Jessica. "History of Brook Farm." American Transcendental Web. 26 Feb. 2008 . Read More