What are the factors that have caused the kibbutzim population to fluctuate?

Lubell’s article The New Rise of Israel’s Kibbutzim: More Young Families Opt for Communal Life explores the factors that have caused the kibbutzim population to fluctuate. The first kibbutz, Degania was founded in 1910 and many things have changed since that time. Lubell analyzes both facts and personal interviews to help him understand these changes. Based on this article it appears that there are two factors that have influenced the population of Israel’s kibbutzim. Social values and economic situations are the main factors that have caused movement in the number of kibbutzim inhabitants.

A kibbutz in theory is a socialist community where all of its members contribute to the sustenance of the kibbutz. Kibbutzim were originally founded so people could implement socialism into a functioning society. The pioneers were immigrants who were intent upon living in Israel as well as creating a community with shared property and values. This type of community was exceptional as it sought to place citizens of a community at an even playing field where each person had enough resources to survive yet because there was no private property everyone was equal.

The necessity of survival in a new country made kibbutzim very popular. On kibbutzim members produced crops and built their homes all on their own. They collaborated to provide sustenance for the entire community. They also socialized as a community as they valued each other’s company. At a time when survival was challenging it was an extreme comfort to survive as a team. However as Israeli society developed outside of kibbutzim it became easier to live so people began to question whether or not this society was right for them. They saw people with new technologies and lifestyles where individual nuclear families survived on their own. The necessity that was part of the motivation to create the first kibbutz was gone and all that survived was the ideology.

It was the introduction of industrialization and the resulting economic hardship that caused a major dip in membership. Lubell points out that “the pioneering socialist and Zionist spirit that drove the movement in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s ran head-on into the consumerist, free-market 1980s and came off worse” (Lubell). Consumerist values were almost completely opposite of traditional kibbutz values but communities were forced to adapt to the industry to remain financially feasible. Industry values financial success and advancement meanwhile kibbutzim valued happiness and equality. Unfortunately, industry became the only available option to keep kibbutzim financially in check. Communities ran their own businesses and scaled back on agricultural work in order to generate sufficient income. This worked until economic crisis slammed Israel in the 80s and people moved out to the cities as kibbutzim began to struggle financially. This was the cause of one of the worst population plummets.

In the past few years following the challenging economic problems kibbutzim have been gaining back the membership they lost. Recently there has been a resurgence in membership as kibbutzim have once again become financially sound. Kibbutzim have become appealing to “young families seeking to escape the high cost of living” who are also interested in gaining a supportive community (Lubell). People are attracted to an affordable lifestyle that also minimizes the stress and competitive nature of the cities. Kibbutzim provide economic support for the whole community because as long as they are working they are housed and fed. The financial benefits are a major factor in helping to revitalize the kibbutz following.

These communities have become more appealing and gained more members because they have eased up on their social structure. According to the socialist principles that they were founded on kibbutzim functioned based on assigned jobs and their methodical rotation. Kibbutzim used to employ all of their residents in their agriculture and various businesses but now people are not required to participate in kibbutz employment. Now “in most of the communities, members no longer have to work largely in kibbutz-assigned jobs for a modest monthly allowance. Instead they can pursue their own professional paths and earn their own wages, a portion of which may go back to the kibbutz” (Lubell). Allowing people to work outside of the kibbutz in whatever career field they choose is innovative but it also eliminates a lot of the principles of communal living. People like Nir Ortal can pursue a career they are passionate about like working for a start-up company and still gain the benefits of a community. In a communal lifestyle all of the members of the community participate in the upkeep of the tasks that need to be done including housekeeping, cooking as well as the businesses the community owns together. In the modern model of the kibbutz this has been partially abandoned and that eliminates a sense of community and hard work that the communal lifestyle generates. However, it also allows people who are passionate about their jobs to be a part of the kibbutzim community. This has attracted many young people to move to kibbutzim because they know they can work where they love and still experience the benefits of a strong community.

Being allowed to possess private property is a value that did not exist on original kibbutzim but is a phenomenon that exists today and has made these communities more interesting. The original kibbutz emphasized that all possessions were owned by the community and the few materials each individual had were simple and uniform for example clothing. This was important as it took value off of objects and emphasized that people should appreciate important things like equality and happiness. While in ideal this was good it is challenging to keep people content with this lifestyle when the rest of society is advancing so rapidly and so much technology is being advanced for the individual. That is why many kibbutzim have introduced private property in their societies however it is limited in that members have small personal allowances so people cannot afford to possess so much. This has attracted populations to return the kibbutz as they know that they can retain certain material objects that hold special meaning for them.

The population of kibbutzim have fluctuated due to the many changes in values that have occurred and economic situations that have developed over time. In the beginning they were solid communities that helped people establish themselves in a new place. Later on the population dropped as industry developed and then later on the economy struggled. Recently, as kibbutzim began to shift away from their traditional socialist structure people have been more attracted to their affordable lifestyle. The way the structure of kibbutz society evolved since its founding caused its membership population to shift frequently.

Works Cited

Lubell, Maayan. “The New Rise of Israel’s Kibbutzim: More Young Families Opt for Communal Life.” Haaretz, June 03 2015. Accessed November 10 2015

http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.659277

Warhurst, Christopher. “The End of Another Utopia? The Israeli Kibbutz and Its Industry in a Period of Transition.” Utopia Studies (1994): 103-121.

I pledge that I have neither received nor given unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work.

Jessica Nadel