kommuune

A kommuune, or commune, is a stable, long-term living arrangement in which a group of people share housing, resources, and often income and labor. The term is used in many languages to describe intentional communities organized around common social, economic, or spiritual goals. While the specifics vary, kommuunid typically emphasize cooperative living and collective decision-making.

Core features commonly found in kommuunid include shared property or housing, pooled resources, and a system for deciding how to allocate tasks, meals, and finances. Governance is often participatory, with rules set by consensus or democratic processes. Some communities operate under formal arrangements such as cooperatives, associations, or non-profit entities, while others are looser in structure. Religious or spiritual motivations are common in many examples, but secular, environmentally focused, or socially experimental communes also exist.

Historically, communes have roots in religious communities and utopian social movements, with notable growth during the 19th and 20th centuries. The counterculture era of the 1960s and 1970s contributed a new visibility to intentional communities, including eco-communities and shared-housing projects. Today, kommuunid range from small co-housing groups to larger, multi-site networks, operating under diverse legal forms and financial arrangements. Property may be owned collectively, held by a cooperative, or leased, and income may be pooled or earned individually and redistributed according to community rules.

Notable patterns include a focus on mutual support, environmental sustainability, and alternative governance models. Critics point to potential conflicts, privacy trade-offs, economic vulnerability, and the complexity of coordinating large groups. See also intentional community, cooperative, ecovillage, and co-housing.