The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

136 THE FREEMAN Marchwomen said that they belonged toGod first and Noyes next, an orderof precedence that they in factreversed. A system of selectivebreeding called "stirpiculture"admitted only the most fit toparenthood. Children lived apart,rarely seen by their parents.For thirty years Oneida adheredto the original plan. By1880 Noyes had aged; the religiousspiritthat he had evokedflickered; the young revolted atthe idea of sharing spouses andsurrendering their children. Thecommune converted to a jointstockcompany in an effort toavoid collapse, but its old habitswere too ingrained. In 1890 P.B.Noyes, one of the founder's "stirpiculture"sons (he sired ten)saved the community by transformingit into a typical well-runAmerican business. He concentratedon silverware, cut costs,emphasized teamwork, hustled,advertised, and competed. TodayOneida differs in no essentialfrom any other enlightened manufacturingfirm.Where Oneida, chose industry,the Amana community of Iowa remainedrural, and even more pervasivelyreligious. Eight hundredGermans of the "True Inspiration"sect established it in 1854on 26,000 choice acres, seven villagesspread in a circle aroundthe central one. Every membersurrendered all his capital to thecommon fund (if he left, he gotit back with interest) and in returnwas guaranteed his necessitiesfor life. Under the rule ofchurch elders the maxim, "obey,without reasoning, God, andthrough God your superiors," keptmembers in line. Amana suppliedits own needs - weavers, cobblers,tailors, watchmakers, pharmacies,printshop - and exported onlyhigh-grade woolen cloth. As muchas possible the members ignoredthe world around them, even hiringoutsiders to serve in the hotellest their own girls be corrupted.By 1900 Amana's piety hadwaned. Without the invigoratingspur of competition the economylagged badly. In 1932 it became' ajoint-stock company intent onprofit. A business managerbrought in from the outsidetrimmed the labor force of itshired hands, closed shops that hadrun at a loss for years, eliminatedfifty-two inefficient dining halls,sold businesses into private handsand houses to their occupants. Stillquaint and quiet today, Amana isa producing and marketing cooperative,without a vestige of itsformer communism.American experiments thatwent under in two years, as manydid, had too large a proportion ofmisfits whose record outside wasone of .steady failure. Intimacy