THE SOCIAL ECOLOGY OF COMMUNAL SOCIALIZATION

An analysis of the socialization practices of contemporary communes reveals considerable differences, even among communes which are ideologically quite similar. Some communes stress the technical applied aspects of the social process, while others stress the beliefs and attitudes, while the formerly listed factors are relatively unattended. The variables that seem to explain the different emphasis appear to be the relative isolation of the commune (rural and urban in the study) and the intention of the commune (whether it is a retreatist-isolationist commune or a mission-evange-listic commune). Evidence from several Mennonite communes suggests that the paradigm proposed is indeed useful in explaining socialization differences.