The Oneida Community - Essay Example

The major tenets propounded by Hayes were (1) The beginning of the Millennium in 70 AD (2) Complex Marriage, or pent gamy, by which every man was married to every woman (3) Mutual Criticism, as a form of collective correction (4) Stripiculture, or the regulation of sexual activity, through male continence, and committee supervision, leading to scientific reproduction. The community practiced Noyes’ vision of ‘Bible communism.’ In order to be self-sufficient, the Oneida Community engaged in several economic ventures, including construction, farming, sawmilling, silk production, manufacture of steel beaver traps and the production of silverware, and was very financially productive.

Individual and group skills were nurtured and practically directed for the communal good. The Oneida succeeded in establishing a strong community, with a collective spirit, and proved by their example that it was possible to live a life based on adherence to rigid religious principle. However, its success, which extended for over thirty years, finally was overcome by the failure of the concept of ‘complex marriage.’ The community disbanded in 1881, transforming itself into the Oneida Community Limited, a joint-stock company, known today simply as ‘Oneida Ltd,’