Utopian Communes and Social Structures: The Case of French-Speaking Belgium

The recent cultural phenomenon of utopian communes & the social structures of Fr-speaking Belgium are studied. The interests & strategies of the social groups participating in this phenomenon are detailed through an analysis of the evolution, during the last fifteen years, of the Catholic Church, & of certain professions among the "new small bourgeoisie" (nurses, primary school teachers, etc). The congruence of these interests & the "institutional crisis" of the 1960s are the causes of the formation of utopias. By studying the occurrence rather than reoccurrences, the significance & the social functions of utopian religious orientations characterizing the "new small bourgeoisie" are delineated, of which the phenomenon of communes is only one manifestation. 1 Table. Modified HA.