A City Where Everyone Works, There Is No Police, And The Salary Is 1200 Euros

[Starry Messenger]

http://www.the-open-mind.com/a-city-where-everyone-works-there-is-no-police-and-the-salary-is-1200-euros/

Unemployment is non-existent in Marinaleda, an Andalusian village in southern Spain that is prosperous thanks to its farming cooperative.

<snip>

In this province alone there are 690,000 empty properties due to bank foreclosures. But not in Marinaleda, because Gordillo has a solution: anyone who wants to build their own house can do so for free. Materials and qualified workmen are provided by the town hall, and the generous allowance of 192 square meters means the homes are spacious. Families then pay just 15 euros ($19) per month for the rest of their lives, with the agreement that the house cannot be sold for private gain.

In Andalusia, unemployment now stands at 37 percent (a staggering 55 percent for young people). But Marinaleda, population 2700, has virtually full employment through the town’s farming cooperative, where laborers earn equal wages of 1200 euros ($1600) per month. Here, in a region where 1 in 3 people are unemployed, this achievement cannot be understated.

<snip>

“We need to rethink our values, the consumer society, the value we place on money, selfishness and individualism,” Gordillo remarks. “Marinaleda is a small example, and we want this experience to extend throughout the world.”

[midnight]

1. Families that only have to pay 19 dollars a month could really create strong families. I love this

idea.

[brush]

17. The Basque region in Spain also has the . . .

Last edited Thu Feb 12, 2015, 12:05 PM - Edit history (1)

Montdragon Cooperative system (google it).

I wonder if this is connected to that?

And we in the US should consider these kinds of worker ownership systems.

Wait for it though . . . pure hardcore capitalists will howl any minute now that we can't go down that socialist road.

[midnight]

24. I wish I spoke spanish. There are some good links to the Montdragon system.

http://www.mondragon-corporation.com/sobre-nosotros/presencia-en-el-mundo/


This link shows a map with info. listed in U.S.

[Phlem]

2. K&R!

[libdem4life]

3. One can hardly even fathom this...amazing social system.

[underpants]

4. Amazing

[ornotna]

5. Very nice

192 sq meters is a good sized home, not a shoebox by any means.

[Electric Monk]

12. 2067 sq ft, to put it in units that most here could visualize more easily

Definitely not a shoebox. My grandparents raised 6 kids in a house 2/3 that size.

[aggiesal]

25. Just found out yesterday that ...

the house where I was raised until 18 years old, with 8 kids total and 2 parents
was only 943 Sq. ft.

The 3 oldest boys, shared a bedroom with 2 beds, the 3 girls shared 1 bedroom
with 1 bed and bunk beds, and the 2 youngest boys shared 1 bed in a bedroom.

We had a basement, that we converted an area into a bedroom for the 3 oldest,
to accommodate the 2 youngest sleeping closer to the parents, but the basement
really wasn't living space, more storage, and tornado shelter.

[pnwmom]

34. The basement sleepers were in a firetrap. Housing codes would never allow that now. n/t

[allan01]

6. i like this .

we also need to get rid of ppl like the late j.p morgan who had a strangle hold on this country. id love to see a community like this in our country good luck to them

[project_bluebook]

7. Like the Movie It's A Wonderful Live

Potter's bank = j.p. morgan.

[blkmusclmachine]

8. ,

,

[Overseas]

9. K&R. Glad to hear it.

[Omaha Steve]

10. Great post

K&R!

[niyad]

11. k and a most heartfelt r--there is hope.

[Jim Lane]

13. If you can get broadband there, I'd consider it for my retirement. (n/t)

[ErikJ]

29. Only 40 miles from Malaga/ Costa Del Sol, 1 of 10 best cities to retire

And is in between Grenada, Seville and Cordoba.

World's 10 best cities to retire on a budget

Malaga Spain:

Spain was hard hit by the global economic crisis, but that provides opportunities for those looking for real estate, which is in abundant supply. Malaga is the gateway to the Costa del Sol -- one of Spain's primary tourism regions. The city of more than 1 million people is both quaint and vibrant, with plenty of shops, museums and food "to die for." Spanish is the primary language, of course, but you can get by with English, too. Apartments and condos in the city center are relatively small by U.S. standards -- averaging a bit under 1,000 square feet. But a nice place can be had for $950 per month, and less if you're willing to live farther from the beach or the center of town. You can also move to one of the nearby seaside villages, where living is cheaper. Buses and trains into town are frequent and convenient.

http://www.cbsnews.com/media/worlds-10-best-cities-to-retire-on-a-budget/2/

[Jim Lane]

38. So Malaga $950/month, Marinaleda $19/month?

I'm surprised Malaga is that expensive. If I'm going to put up with the negatives of being an expat in retirement, it will have to be in exchange for a substantially lower cost of living than in the U.S.

Thanks for the link! Some of the other places on that list seem worth checking out.

[eridani]

14. Well, if rent is just slightly over one percent of your income--

--$1600 Euros would work out fine.

[ctsnowman]

15. K & R

[valerief]

16. I wonder how many of them go to war to fight for the wealth of the .01%. nt

[world wide wally]

18. I'll bet the citizens are healthier too because of less stress

[Texano78704]

19. Where's the Libertarian example?

Kudos for demonstrating (again) that social democracies work.

[TinkerTot55]

20. Here's a more detailed article on the same village:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/20/marinaleda-spanish-communist-village-utopia

[Buenaventura]

21. The last time the Spanish people tried this Franco killed them.

It’s taken a long, long time to recover.

[lark]

22. Yeah, don't think that the Kochs or Bushes would tolerate that here either.

There's no way they would let this happen, why, why -that's just pure socialism and doesn't punish folks for being poor.

Can't have that - no way.

[ErikJ]

23. Communism – In the heart of America?!?

http://www.godinanutshell.com/project/dimensions-of-reality/communism-in-the-heart-of-america/

One of the oldest American communist communities is not in Cuba, Venezuela or Nicaragua but has been established well over 100 years ago right in heartland of the USA. It is still around today with thriving colonies which would make the eyes of some old soviet comrades shed tears of joy confirming that their ideals did work after all.

But there is a snag – these guys didn’t embrace atheism as the basis of their communist ideals but instead they have embraced Christ as the core of their belief system and they keep the Bible at the very heart of their communities.
On this note the tears of joy for the old soviet comrades might choke up slightly.



Still all this may be hard to swallow for the American mindset:
Capitalism = Good = Christianity
Communism = Evil = Atheism


And yet the oldest working communist community, being devoutly Christian is practising their faith and lifestyle in South Dakota, Montana, Manitoba, Canada and many other places.

[NaturalHigh]

27. As far as I can tell...

there is little in our capitalistic system that would get a thumbs up from Christ.

[ErikJ]

30. I toured a Hutterite farm in east Washington state once

They were quite nice. They had family living quarters but all shared a common kitchen. They shared all the latest farm equipment and were very successful farmers compared to their neighbor independent small farmers. They limit their size to 100-150 and then split into a new colony. They often buy out their neighboring farm's or acres.
This is an interesting Bible verse, even though I'm agnostic.

[NaturalHigh]

33. That's definitely a relevant quote...

especially in this day and age when "prosperity gospel" preachers tell us that we can all get rich by donating to their "ministries."

[NaturalHigh]

26. Wow...societies and governments everywhere...

could learn a lot from these people.

[jwirr]

28. I like the system as far as it goes but I cannot help but ask: where are the disabled and elderly?

[shaayecanaan]

35. there are some elderly

not a whole lot of disabled people though. There is no welfare system, you have to work if you want to get paid and its reasonably hard work.

Its worth noting that only one person per household is allowed to work. This means that family structures tend towards being traditional.

Also worth noting that there are still non communists living in the town from before the communists took over 30 yeas ago. Currently there is a two year waiting list and they are only interested in people who are prepared to work and participate as communists.

I think a lot of people think of this as some kind of funky gated community or something. Its not.

Bear in mind that they only won their land by occupying it from the landlords. Not sure how that would fly on good old du.

[jwirr]

36. The fact that only one person per household is allowed to work would allow for taking care of

someone who could not work and needed a caregiver.

Having said that I think this is an experiment that does not allow for the real world. There are disabled and elderly everywhere.

[shaayecanaan]

40. it was the real world for all of human history

until industrial capitalism came along. If any of us survive its demise then it will become the real world once more.

[jwirr]

43. Oh that is why I was interested in the first place but then I read how they are not interested in

letting anyone who cannot work join. That is not the real world. And for many of them aging and disability will become a reality because of their work. To plan a community for the future one must take into account that reality unless they are planning on getting rid of anyone with the normal problems of life.

[Adam051188]

31. commies........you're all a bunch of commies....

[ret5hd]

32. Uhhhmmm...yeah.

What are you getting at?

[Starry Messenger]

37. I just got home from a day away at a conference.

I'm touched to see the replies and recs on this thread--I've had the article in my browser tabs for a couple of days and hesitated to post it, thinking people here might think it was stupid. Sure, things about this city might be hard to scale, and there are limits to this kind of small-scale cooperation, but...it's also good to have dreams and see there are paths, and people walking on them.

[vive la commune]

39. When I feel depressed about the world

Thinking about Marinaleda is one thing that cheers me up and gives me hope. That and the Kurdish communities in Rojava and the Zapatistas.

[TBF]

41. I didn't think it was stupid when I posted it

months ago: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10245442

But then I never get many recs. I guess I kind of suck at writing good titles to draw people in. It's an interesting concept and there are others out there. The first criticism thrown out is that these types of society will only work for small groups but I don't buy that. I think the bigger problem, as we see going back to the Paris Commune, is that people in power now are very reluctant to give it up.

[Starry Messenger]

42. I was lucky the title was already written on the site I got this from.

I suck at writing titles!

These days, since the Bay Area is so dog-eat-dog economically, it is heartening to see a city existing in a spirit of cooperation. It gave me the feels.

[jwirr]

44. I do like this element of the experiment. As I have posted before it does not take into account the

elements of real life - aging and disabilities. I would like to see them included in this model. This model should be taken seriously as a replacement of our greedy corporations and capitalists - worker owned is the best way to go. For a replacement of a whole community I think it falls short.

[TBF]

45. A valid concern

and one I share as I have a father who was disabled due to his service in the Vietnam war. He was a young man (enlisted at 17 with parental signature) and managed to work 15 years in a factory after his military service before giving in to retirement. At the end he could only drive forklift as his disabilities worsened - but he was proud to be able to do that as long as he did.

I talk about the Venus Project a fair amount in here because it's one of the models that focuses on distribution of resources as needed. That seems like a far better system given the environmental challenges we are facing. We are literally destroying the planet in our quest for profit. Any new system I'd design would eliminate currency completely.

[jwirr]

46. The distribution of resources in our future is another reason to look at these models.