I think you're implying a vision of housing co-ops that is somewhat wide of the mark. Your use of the word 'commune' points towards it too. It seems to be a vision of airheaded hippy communal living. and that's not it at all.
They are not somewhere where all adults have equal responsibility for the kids. As I said, they can be a shared house, or a clutch of properties with people having their own house/flat.
There is no one model or political purpose necessary; there is, in fact, nothing different to personally owning or renting, expect in who owns the property.
As an ethical investment it's worth it as the guarantee of return is so good, and it is far more ethical than the financial institutions who don't invest in weapons companies but do invest in the people that, in turn, invest in weapons companies.
shanshee_allures wrote:
As an idea it sounds good but I think practically murder may just be commited at some point!
No different to any other living circumstances there, then.
Co-ops do work. There are hundreds of thousands of them around the world that prove it. So it's not some pie in the sky thing, and I'm not really sure what point you're making.
shanshee_allures wrote:
maybe some parents can be aloof enough to cope with strangers being so close to their children (I take it some have met only through the scheme)
Parents in co-ops are all aloof are they? Phew, load your phrasing much?
Yep, some people only meet through the desire to all be part of a co-op. But people meet, stay, discuss before they move in. Then there tends to be a probationary period (often around six months) after which the existing members and the newbie review it and see if they're all happy with living together before they commit to full membership.
So it's not really about strangers being as responsible for your children as you. But many parents find that having responsible adults having real relationships with their children prevents things like generation gaps and a lot of the polarisation that the nuclear family model commonly brings.
shanshee_allures wrote:
Many families don't even have the money to gamble on something *maybe* working out, but as a stop gap it may work.
Again, I'm not completely clear on what you're saying here. That a family might put a load of money into a co-op that doesn't suit them?
If that's it then it's not really relevant. In a co-op, there are people who lend money to buy the property. They get paid back by future income from rent (or sale of the property if the co-op folds).
Then there are people who live there and pay rent. As tenants, same as anywhere else, you don't own the property.
So, there's no way in which this is 'a gamble on something that may work out'.
Unless I've misunderstood your point.
